Fremont Parents Alarmed After Child Pokes Classmates With Used Medical Needle
FREMONT (KPIX 5) -- Parents which children at a Fremont elementary school got a disturbing warning earlier this week after a student went around poking classmates with a used medical needle.
"He told me to stick my arm out. And I did. And then he poked me," explained Cabrillo Elementary School student Bryan Bullock
What the eight-year-old didn't know was that pinprick was from a used medical device known as a lancet. The needles are typically used to draw blood from diabetics. The prick could have exposed him to some serious diseases including HIV and hepatitis.
When school officials called Monday to tell his parents he should see a doctor and get tested, he got scared.
"I was afraid I was going to get very sick and have to go to the doctor's," said Bullock
Bullock was one of 14 students at Cabrillo who had been poked with that lancet by a classmate who brought it campus in late May.
The health scare left many parents feeling on edge.
"There could be health issues involved. We don't know what the needle was exposed to," said parent Naomi Meafoou. "So my heart goes out to those parents."
"Parents are obviously concerned. Not only when someone happens to their child -- but any child --parents are concerned," said Fremont Unified School District Superintendent Dr. James Morris. "They want make sure their child is OK."
According to the district, so far none of the children have gotten sick. Their tests have all come back negative.
Bullock's great-grandfather William Lofton said he was relieved that a child's game didn't have more dire consequences.
"A kid is a kid. He didn't know what he was doing," said Lofton. "He picked up something and probably didn't even know what it was. He was just playing. He didn't mean to hurt nobody."
