Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Monday, August 9, 1999
The Boston Herald said today the boy had to be treated at Massachusetts General Hospital with the anti-AIDS drug cocktail as a precaution after he was stuck by the needle while waiting for Sunday's Flight 491 to take off for Dallas.
American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Pantin says it appears the needle "had just been dropped by a previous passenger from a bag."
The teenager reportedly was stuck when he reached into the crack between the seat cushion and the back of the seat.
It was not immediately known what the syringe contained. The Herald reported officials were concerned whether it was contaminated with the HIV virus.
The boy, whose name was not disclosed, was released after treatment at the hospital. He and his mother were put up at a Boston hotel overnight and were to be flown to Texas today.
Massachusetts State Police took possession of the syringe for testing and are trying to determine the identity of the seat's previous occupant. The plane had landed at Boston's Logan International Airport earlier Sunday after a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Airline officials are checking a report by a diabetic woman who says she had been on another American flight into Logan on Sunday, saying she may have lost a clean needle. It was not immediately known if she had been on the same plane as the boy.
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