A six-year-old Towradgi girl's life may have been changed forever after suffering a devastating needle-stick injury while playing at a Wollongong fast food restaurant.
But the person responsible for discarding the needle could be facing little more than an aggravated littering charge and monetary fine.
The heartbroken family faces an agonising six-month wait for blood test results to determine whether their child may have contracted a serious blood-borne disease, such as HIV or hepatitis B and C.
Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Ainsworth said the little girl had been playing on a slippery dip in the Corrimal St McDonald's restaurant playground just after 10am on Thursday when she was pricked on the left thumb by a discarded hypodermic needle left lying on the ground.
"The thumb actually started to bleed, the young girl pulled the needle out and she went and told her mother. The mother then went to the playground, she found the needle tip and reported it to the local McDonald's people," he said.
After being taken to the family doctor, the child underwent a series of blood tests, the full results of which won't be known for several months.
Inquiries into the incident are continuing and police are attempting to identify the person responsible for discarding the needle, however cameras located in the playground did not capture the event.
McDonald's Australia national operations director Sharon Paz said the incident was the first of its kind since the store opened in 1993 and the company had launched an investigation.
"As a mum, I can only imagine how distressing this time is for the family," she said. "Our first concern is for the young girl and I have been in contact with her parents to offer our support."
The child's mother was too upset to attend a police press conference yesterday. Anyone who was at the fast food restaurant on Thursday morning should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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