Libyan device sterilisation under spotlight:

Medical device sterilisation has been thrust under the international spotlight in Libya, with the sentencing to death of a group of foreign healthcare workers alleged to have infected hundreds of patients with HIV. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are accused of infecting over 400 children in 1999. The re-use of infected medical equipment and poor hygiene are, however, the most likely causes of the infections, according to the International Council of Nurses. The ICN is citing expert evidence in support of an appeal against the death sentence, to be heard by the Libyan Courts in two months' time.