A nine-year-old boy got pierced by a syringe when he was playing with his friends in the Reykjavík suburb of Árbaer on Sunday afternoon. He was taken straight to the hospital where he underwent a medical examination.
The Landspítali hospital in Reykjavík. Photo by Dagbjört Oddný Matthíasdóttir.
The boy’s uncle, Eyjólfur Páll Vídisson, told Morgunbladid that this is not the first time that syringes have been found in the area and advises parents to pay close attention to the surroundings in which their children are playing.
“He was playing outside and then brought home a box of syringes and told his mom that he had stuck himself on it. She was shocked,” Vídisson described. He added that he knows of people in the neighborhood who abuse drugs.
The boy had to return to the hospital again yesterday for further testing and he was given an antidote for hepatitis B and C and HIV. He must continue receiving injections for another year. The results of the testing won’t be clear for one week.
Only two weeks ago a five-year-old boy was pierced by a syringe while playing in Öskjuhlíd, the outdoor recreation area by Perlan in Reykjavík.
Karl Steinar Valsson, the senior officer of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police drug division said he is certain that only a small part of the syringes that are found outside are reported—people who find them often throw them away without notifying the authorities.
