Hospital at Centre of Child HIV Outbreak Caught Reusing Syringes in Undercover Filming
Eight-year-old Mohammed Amin succumbed to HIV shortly after testing positive, his high fevers compelling him to sleep in the rain. His mother, Sughra, recalls his agony as “like he’d been thrown in hot oil.” Ten-year-old Asma, who stood at her younger brother’s graveside, shared how their family believes both children contracted the virus from contaminated needles during routine treatments at Taunsa’s THQ Taunsa Hospital in Punjab, Pakistan. They are among 331 children identified by BBC Eye as HIV-positive in the city between November 2024 and October 2025.
A private clinic doctor first linked the outbreak to THQ Taunsa in late 2024, prompting local authorities to pledge a “massive crackdown” and suspend the hospital’s medical superintendent in March 2025. However, BBC Eye’s investigation reveals that unsafe injection practices persisted months after the suspension. Over 32 hours of covert filming in late 2025, staff reused syringes on multi-dose vials on 10 occasions, risking contamination of the drugs. In four instances, the same vial was administered to different children.
“Even with a new needle, the syringe body retains the virus, so transmission can still occur,” explained Dr Altaf Ahmed, a consultant microbiologist and infectious disease specialist, after reviewing the footage.
Despite visible signs promoting safe injection techniques, the team observed staff—including a physician—using non-sterile gloves 66 times. A nurse was also seen handling medical waste without protective gear. Ahmed noted this exemplifies systemic gaps in infection control training across Pakistan. When shown the footage, Dr Qasim Buzdar, the hospital’s new medical superintendent, dismissed its authenticity, claiming it might have been staged or recorded before his tenure. He insisted his facility adheres to safety standards for pediatric patients.
Dr Gul Qaisrani, a local private clinic physician, identified the outbreak in late 2024 after noticing a surge in children with HIV. He says 65 to 70 of the diagnosed patients had received treatment at THQ Taunsa. One mother recounted her daughter being injected with a syringe previously used on an HIV-positive cousin, while another claimed a father confronted staff about reusing needles and was ignored.
BBC Eye compiled data from the Punjab Aids screening program, private clinics, and a leaked police dataset to pinpoint 331 HIV-positive cases in Taunsa during the specified period. Of 97 children whose families were tested, only four mothers were positive, suggesting mother-to-child transmission played a minor role. The provincial program lists “contaminated needle” as the transmission method in over half of the cases, though some remain unspecified.
While the Punjab government acted in March 2025, citing 106 confirmed cases, THQ Taunsa’s former superintendent, Dr Tayyab Farooq Chandio, continued working with children as a senior medical officer at a nearby rural health center. Chandio claimed he swiftly addressed the issue upon learning of the first HIV case but denied the hospital was responsible for the outbreak. He was later replaced by Buzdar.
