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Nevada is having a time of it, does make one think of questions about why.

Re-using syringes in 2007-2008 in the USA is nothing short of unbelievable and despicable as a cost cutting tool.

Needle Shield and info on reused needles

In the late 1990's the San Francisco Chronicle ran a series of news articles written by: Reynolds Holding, legal affairs writer, and William Carlson, staff writer, entitled "Deadly Needles: A Global Crisis". These articles covered such topics as "Contaminated syringes kill millions each year", "Health workers contract deadly diseases as unsterile needle sticks are common", "Syringes reused in the U.S. despite risks, with cost, ignorance being common excuses", and "Immunization risky in some countries due to reuse of unsafe syringes".

One article stated that 40% of new A.I.D.S. infections in the U.S., are directly, or indirectly, due to contaminated needles. The figure among women and children is 75%.

Internal reports of the World Health Organization (WHO ) stated that the estimated number of world wide infections and deaths caused by reuse of contaminated syringes were: 10 million infections and 1.8 million deaths per year, mostly children. WHO officials say these figures are conservative estimates. The WHO study reported soaring disease rates in Egypt, Brazil, Kenya, India, Cambodia and Russia where the reuse of needles occurs dozens, sometimes hundreds of times.

Due to lack of funds, some countries have tried sterilizing disposable syringes, for reuse during immunization programs, but in many cases they were unsuccessful, and infections resulted.