A Bluff woman says she is an "emotional wreck" after being pricked by one of seven syringes and needles - some used - inside a Southland Times newspaper delivered to her home.
The woman is to undergo three months of blood testing to check if she has contracted HIV, hepatitis B or C.
Bluff police confirmed yesterday they were investigating an incident involving a delivery contractor who delivered to the woman's home a Southland Times newspaper which contained a bag of used needles and syringes.
They declined to comment further.
The Southland Times general manager Gareth Codd yesterday said the delivery contractor's contract had been terminated.
It "was an isolated incident" and subscribers should not be concerned for their safety, he said.
It was appropriate for the newspaper not to publish information about the incident because it was "working with police", he said.
The woman, who is in her 50s and did not want to be named, went to retrieve the newspaper at 6.30am on Tuesday.
The paper, wrapped in a plastic bag, felt bulkier than normal and "I thought `We must be getting a freebie'."
She felt a sharp prick to the index finger of her left hand.
Rinsing her finger under a tap inside, the woman said she was shocked to discover seven empty syringes and needles protruding from a snap-lock bag inside the newspaper.
"They were filthy.
''Some had definitely been used," she said.
Wrapped around the snap-lock bag was an intravenous line and butterfly needle (which is used to inject drugs into veins close to the skin).
She immediately phoned the police.
Invercargill police went to her house that morning and she was advised to notify the Southland Times before going for tests at the Bluff Medical Centre.
At the centre she was tested to see if she already had HIV, hepatitis B or C.
All results were negative.
The woman, who was taking a course of precautionary medication, said she wanted someone to be held responsible.
She talked to Mr Codd on Tuesday.
The following night she was contacted by Fairfax New Zealand chief executive Joan Withers.
Ms Withers told the Otago Daily Times yesterday she learned of the incident on Wednesday and called the victim that night.
Further questions were referred to Mr Codd.
When asked if compensation would be paid, Mr Codd declined to comment.
