Schoolyard Prank Puts Students at Risk for HIV

PHILADELPHIA, April 29, 2005 -- -- Parents of some children at an elementary school are afraid that the youngsters may have been exposed to the virus that leads to AIDS after as many as 19 third-graders, including one who is HIV positive, were pricked by the same needle.

It happened on the Taylor Elementary School playground on Wednesday, when one child brought her mother's diabetes testing needle to school and started pricking her classmates.

Some parents said the incident bothered them when they first heard of it, because a substitute teacher allegedly ignored children's complaints that the little girl was stabbing them with the needle. They said their concerns became much more serious after school officials informed them Thursday that one of the children who was stuck with the needle is HIV positive.

The parents don't know how worried to be about the risk to their children, because they do not know when the needle was used on the child who is HIV positive.

"We don't know if that was before or after whose child," said Carmen Ortiz, whose daughter, Carmen Mendoza, attends the school.

Eight-year-old Carmen is like many of her classmates -- she doesn't even know what HIV is, but she can tell by her parents' reaction.

"I don't really know what it is, but I'm scared," she said.

"This is something that's not to be played with," said Mike Gonzalez, another parent of a child at the school. "You've got now little kids that are in danger."

Parents were told to bring their children to St. Christopher's Hospital for blood tests. They were given prescriptions for Retrovir and Epovir, drugs the prescribing doctor said can prevent HIV infection. They are given to health care workers within 24 hours of an accidental needle stick.

As of Thursday evening, the parents of five children said the test results were negative for the potentially deadly virus. The children will be tested twice more.