REDONDO BEACH, Calif., April 20 (UPI) -- An infectious disease specialist says it's too late to test a syringe with which a 6-year-old California boy pricked himself during an after school program.
Kristopher Kuerten's parents have been trying to get possession of the syringe since the incident last February but the insurance company for the boy's charter school won't release it, the Los Angeles Times reports.
David Talan, chief of emergency medicine at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, said a test at this late date would prove little.
"Most viruses are gone within a few hours," Talan said.
Since the incident, Kristopher hasn't experienced any medical problems and experts say his risk of infection is low.
Nevertheless, his parents are unhappy about how matters were handled by Goethe International Charter School in Marina del Rey.
The Times said if the school or insurance company had called the Los Angeles police or fire departments, the needle would have been taken as evidence.
