Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald (MH) - Thursday, August 8, 1991
Herald Staff
Authorities searched Wednesday for 100 needles stolen from a lab technician's car, more than half of which are reportedly infected with the AIDS virus.
"If they were used on people that are HIV positive, they should be considered dangerous," Hialeah police Capt. Steve Andres said. "We, of course, want to do everything we can to recover them as soon as possible before they get into the wrong hands."
Police said the needles were in a medical waste box for the Hollywood Diagnostic Center. The box also contained tubes that carried blood samples from patients who tested positive to an AIDS-related virus.
Someone smashed the passenger window of Stewart Silva's white 1990 Dodge Shadow parked outside Physique World Gym, 1545 W. 40th St. in Hialeah. The thief took the box, along with a Sony cassette tape player.
Officials at the Hollywood Diagnostic Center are concerned that the thieves may not understand how dangerous the needles are. While the box with the needles is secure, it could be easily broken, they said.
About 60 of the needles were contaminated with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus.
Police are urging the thieves to turn the needles in to any health-care facility or the police department.
CORRECTION
The Herald incorrectly reported Wednesday that blood samples from HIV positive patients had been stolen from a car in Hialeah. Thieves took from the car a box with syringes, some of which may have been used on HIV patients.
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