Majority of disposable syringes and needles are not reusable, although certain needle types such as cardiac, biopsy needles or insulin needles may be reprocessed if they contain the manufacturer’s statement [1]. There are many risks involved in the case of reusing needles and syringes among different people, such as infection of blood-borne diseases like hepatitis B/C, HIV and AIDS [2, 3], if those needles and syringes are not properly reprocessed and sanitized.

Unsafe injection practice can not only cause HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and skin diseases but also hasten in cases of animal disease outbreaks as well. According to the report on WHO 63rd World Health Assembly by the Secretariat on ‘Viral Hepatitis’ on 25th March 2010 [4], there are approximately 2000 million people worldwide who have been infected with hepatitis B. Of these figures, unsafe injection practices, such as injection drug use, accounts for an estimate of 21 million (~1.05%) new hepatitis B virus infections and 2 million (~1.18% - 1.54%) new hepatitis C virus infections. Similarly, according to WHO Global HIV/AIDS Response Progress Report 2011 [5], there are altogether 34 million people with HIV in 2010, of which 2.7 million are newly infected. Among different causes, injection-related transmission has a high HIV prevalence and been regarded a growing problem in different regions of the world [5, Page 128]. In addition to these blood-borne diseases, deadly skin infections occur from the re-use of insulin injections [6]. Simply re-using both syringes and needles can cause these diseases which can be a problem for diabetics who need to take insulin many times a day.

Unsafe injection practice affects not only humans but also animals, for example Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreaks in sub-Saharan and North Africa since 1931 [7]. One account of intensifying the disease outbreak is by mass immunization of animals through reuse of needles and syringes. This results in the virus being transmitted from one infected sheep or cow to all animals. Outbreaks of RVF in animals can then also put risks to veterinarians, herders, farmers, slaughterhouse workers and alike.

Although disposable needles can be bought cheaply, small funded clinics in less economically developed countries will reuse them without the patient’s knowledge either to save cost or because of scarcity of resource. Our consultation with a doctor practicing in sub-urban areas of Myanmar has exposed the practice of health care practitioners who re-package used needles, syringes and reuse them. Although infections caused by malpractice cannot be prevented, UltraClean can close the gap between negligence and inconvenience by being made widely accessible.