RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The doctor charged for private consultations and also worked as a general practitioner in a public hospital in the region.
The scandal surfaced in April this year when several residents in the city fell ill simultaneously. Most of them developed a very high temperature, resistant to medication.
Finally, after testing, 1,100 people were diagnosed with the disease, most of them children under the age of 12 who had consulted with Ghanghro.
Resident Imtiaz Jalbani, whose six children were treated by the pediatrician, told the US newspaper “The New York Times” that he saw the doctor looking for a syringe in a dumpster to use on one of his children who was later diagnosed with HIV.
He said he questioned the doctor over his behavior and he replied that Jalbani was “too poor to pay for a new one”.
Ghanghro is to answer for negligence and manslaughter. He denies all charges and says he never reused syringes. According to local authorities, there is evidence that other professionals also applied injections to patients with used needles.
In addition, healthcare professionals suspect that razors used by barbers on several clients and unsterilized utensils from people offering dental services on the streets may have contributed to the outbreak.
Source: Globo