EIGHTEEN Tasmanian grade 9/10 students are undergoing blood testing after it was revealed their teacher had tested their blood with the same needle as part of a class science experiment.
The teacher, at a southern Tasmanian school, only used methylated spirits in an attempt to sterilise the needle -- a measure that does little to reduce the risk of transmitting blood borne viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitus C or HIV.
The incident happened last month, but the Education Department was only made aware of it on Monday and the Director of Public Health Roscoe Taylor was first notified last week.
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Education Minister Lin Thorp would not release the name of the school involved or whether it was a public or private school, in order to protect the identity of the children involved.
Ms Thorp, who has sought a detailed report on the incident, said it was far too early to say if the teacher involved would be sacked.
Dr Taylor said while the risk of viral transmission was low, the incident should never have happened.
Ms Thorp vowed such an incident will never happen again.
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