Medical staff at the THQ Taunsa hospital in Punjab, Pakistan, have been caught reusing contaminated syringes and following unsafe medical practices, according to an undercover investigation by BBC Eye.
The investigation, which tracked a surge in pediatric HIV cases, documented 331 children testing positive for the virus at the public facility between November 2024 and October 2025.
Dr. Gul Qaisrani, a local private clinic physician, first identified the outbreak in late 2024 after noticing an unusual spike in HIV infections among children. His findings eventually linked the cluster to the THQ Taunsa hospital.
During 32 hours of covert filming in late 2025, researchers observed the reuse of syringes in multi-dose medication vials on 10 separate occasions. In four instances, the same vial was used to administer medication to different children.
"Even if they use a new needle, the back part—the body of the syringe—can contain the virus, so it transmits the same way," said Dr. Altaf Ahmed, a consulting microbiologist and infectious disease expert.
Systematic hygiene failures
The footage also captured healthcare workers and nurses administering injections without sterile gloves on 66 different occasions. The investigation also recorded a nurse inspecting a medical waste bin without protective gear.
"It is violating all principles of medication administration," Ahmed said, after reviewing the footage.
Footage from November and December 2025 showed open medication vials and used needles left on surfaces that should remain sterile. Many children in the ward were receiving medication via intravenous cannulas, a practice that allows the virus direct access to the bloodstream.
While local authorities previously suspended the hospital's medical director in March 2025 and promised a crackdown, the investigation suggests dangerous practices continued months later. The current medical director, Dr. Qasim Buzdar, denied the authenticity of the footage, suggesting it might have been staged or filmed before his tenure.
An analysis of 97 children and their families found only four positive mothers, suggesting that less than half of the cases were transmitted from mother to child. This indicates that the majority of infections likely stem from contaminated needles.
Local government officials stated there is no conclusive epidemiological evidence identifying the hospital as the source of the outbreak, citing unregulated private practices and uncontrolled transfusions as alternative factors. However, a joint report from UNICEF and the WHO had previously identified similar issues at the facility, including medicine shortages and poor infection control.
