Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming
Hospital at Heart of Child HIV Outbreak Reused Syringes in Secret Footage
Eight-year-old Mohammed Amin passed away shortly after his HIV diagnosis, a tragedy his mother, Sughra, describes as agonizing. “His fevers were so intense he would sleep in the rain, and he twisted in pain as though dipped in hot oil,” she recalls. Ten-year-old Asma, his younger sister, also contracted the virus and now mourns him at his graveside. Both children are part of a larger cluster of 331 HIV-positive cases in Taunsa, Punjab, Pakistan, identified by BBC Eye between November 2024 and October 2025.
Unsafe Practices Persist Despite Promises
In late 2024, a private clinic doctor connected the outbreak to THQ Taunsa Hospital, prompting local authorities to pledge a “massive crackdown” and suspend its medical superintendent in March 2025. Yet BBC Eye’s investigation reveals that hazardous injection methods continued well beyond this date. During 32 hours of covert filming in late 2025, staff reused syringes on multi-dose vials 10 times, exposing the drugs to contamination. On four occasions, the same vial was administered to multiple children, raising concerns about viral spread.
“Even with a new needle, the syringe body carries the virus, so transmission is still possible,” noted Dr Altaf Ahmed, a microbiologist and HIV expert, after reviewing the footage.
Despite visible signs promoting safe injection practices, the team observed staff—including a physician—administering shots without sterile gloves 66 times. A nurse also handled medical waste without protection, violating infection control protocols. When shown the footage, the hospital’s new superintendent, Dr Qasim Buzdar, dismissed its authenticity, suggesting it could have been staged or recorded before his tenure.
Clues from the Community
Dr Gul Qaisrani, a local clinic physician, first noticed the pattern in late 2024 after seeing a surge in pediatric HIV cases. Nearly all of the 65 to 70 children he diagnosed had visited THQ Taunsa. One parent recounted a daughter receiving an injection from a syringe used by an HIV-positive cousin, while another claimed staff ignored warnings about syringe reuse.
BBC Eye compiled data from Punjab’s AIDS screening program, private clinics, and a leaked police dataset to map the 331 cases. Among 97 children tested, only four mothers were HIV-positive, indicating that most infections were not passed from mother to child. The majority of cases listed “contaminated needle” as the transmission route, though some remain unexplained.
Dr Tayyab Farooq Chandio, THQ Taunsa’s former medical superintendent, was suspended in March 2025 but resumed working with children at a rural health center three months later. In an interview, he claimed the hospital was not the outbreak’s source, despite the evidence. He was replaced by Dr Qasim Buzdar, who continues to defend the facility’s safety.