MUMBAI: The next time you are in a movie hall, don't be surprised if you get lessons on the safe use of injections, before the show. A UK charity has launched a mass media blitzkrieg, urging people to ensure that their doctor uses a syringe only from a sealed packet and throws it out after use.

Members of the Safepoint Trust have flooded over 300 cinema halls across the country with short films translated in eight languages, aired them on prime-time TV and also played the message on radio.

They have dug out a 2004 study conducted on behalf of the ministry of health and family welfare, which showed that an estimated 2.9 to 5.8 injections were administered per person per year. Of these, 62.9% of the injections were unsafe.

"The Indian government had startling facts about unsafe syringes-reused or un-sterile ones-being used across the country. It's been four years, but nothing has been done since then,'' said Marc Koska, founder of the charity, adding that there was an urgent need for a legislation to prevent the reuse of syringes. "We are also trying to empower the next generation,'' he said.

Injections are unsafe if they are reused, putting patients at the risk of infections such as Hepatitis B, or aren't administered properly, leaving patients with a local injury or infection. According to World Health Organisation estimates, there are an estimated 30,000 HIV infections and over 21,000,000 Hepatitis B infections every year due to unsafe injections.

However, Dr Narendra Arora, executive director of INCLEN (International Clinical Epidemiology Network) which had conducted the 2004 study chose to differ.

"There is a great need to improve the quality of our injections and the way they are administered, but a lot has been done since the study. The government has introduced auto-disposable syringes in all immunisation programmes, which are much safer than the glass syringes used earlier,'' Dr Arora told TOI. Experts agreed that only 17% of injections come under the immunisation programme, the rest are given for curative purposes, a sector that isn't as well regulated. "We have also set up 20 model injection centres across the country for training medical professionals on how to give injections in a safe manner,'' said Dr Arora.

The need of the hour, said experts, is for patients and relatives to be alert when they are getting a shot.

Needling risks

What: The 2004 study was conducted by the IndiaCLEN (International Clinical Epidemiology Network) to estimate the burden and safety of injection use in India.

Method: Interviews with over 24,021 households and 3,562 health facilities across India. Observation of 17,844 injection processes and 24,030 client-provider interactions

Findings:

i) Nearly 62.9% of injections were unsafe

ii) Nearly one-third of administered injections carried the risk of spreading blood-borne viruses

iii) Nearly 44.8% of health facilities didn't have proper injection disposal