New Delhi, July 21: The Indian Medical Association has warned that millions of injections administered across the country can spread several killer diseases like AIDS and Hepatitis B and C.

The figures that the apex body of top doctors in the country released today reveal that overuse of injection and re-use of syringes and needles lead to 20 lakh Hepatitis B, four lakh Hepatitis C and 30,000 new HIV cases each year.

Unsafe injection practices also cause abscesses and lead to septicaemia, hemorrhagic fevers and malaria. Re-use of syringes and needles, overuse of therapeutic injections, poor injecting devices and unhygienic disposal practices are the main factors responsible for transmission of these infections, the IMA said. In India, four million injections are given each year as compared to the worldwide total of 16 billion.

“Ensuring injection safety by curbing the malpractices is a challenge for the government, medical professionals and all concerned,” the IMA said. It has asked doctors to use injections only when it is essential and advised them to practise safe injection and waste disposal procedures.

Workshops will be organised this year in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, Bangalore and Varanasi for IMA members on the use of injections, the association said.