Wilfrid Laurier University students face the risk of serious blood-borne viruses after a class blood sampling device was misused, according to a university press release.
Approximately 200 kinesiology and physical education students enrolled in a third-year physiology class volunteered to have their blood tested and may have come into contact with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV, said the press release.
Laurier’s Health Services, in consultation with the Region of Waterloo Public Health, said that the risk of transmission is “extremely low,” but the university has contacted the 1189 students enrolled in the class from September 2002 to December 2011.
The risk for Hepatitis B among those who participated in testing is six in one million for individuals vaccinated against the virus.
For Hepatitis C, the risk is one in one million and HIV is one in 10 million, according to the press release.
“We are taking the situation very seriously and have chosen to take proactive measures to provide information to those involved,” Laurier provost and vice-president academic Deborah MacLatchy said in the press release.
Although a new needle was used for each blood sample, the blood sampler device that held the needle was reused.
The device was cleaned with alcohol, but it “was not meant to be used by multiple individuals,” according to Laurier’s website.
The class, Physiology of Physical Activity KP322, used the testing to monitor blood lactate levels for instructional purposes, the website stated.
In addition to the university reviewing the circumstances surrounding this situation, the blood sampler is no longer being used in the class lab.
The university will also be assisting students who choose to be tested for the blood-borne viruses, the Laurier website said.
