Girl, 5, doing well after pricking herself with discarded needles

A senior kindergarten student who pricked herself with discarded needles while at school has finished preventative medical treatment and is doing well.

Lily Slater, 5, underwent 28 days of antivirals to protect against possible infection of Hepatitis B and HIV at the start of the school year.

"The chance of her being exposed to that was so, so low,"  said her mom Amy from their living room in Roncesvalles.

"You have to give it to her anyway because there's still a chance, right?" 

According to Toronto Public Health, the transmission of diseases through discarded needles is "extremely unlikely."

Globally, there are no recorded instances of HIV being transmitted by a discarded needle, and only five cases where a form of hepatitis was transmitted.

'Overwhelming response' to girl's story

It was Sept. 5 when Lily and two friends stumbled across the syringes at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic School, an elementary school in Toronto's west end, near Roncesvalles Avenue and Dundas Street West. 

At the time, a police spokesperson said it did not appear they were injured, but all three children, aged five, were treated at a hospital. 

"I was surprised by the overwhelming response the story had," said Slater, who also wrote about what happened on Facebook.

Her post was shared more than 30,000 times. 

"It's easy to point fingers when you are feeling angry. The thing I could've done is prepared [her daughter] for that moment," said Slater. 

"I did not prepare her for that moment. And that's the lesson, not to be afraid to talk to your kids about things that are scary, especially if it's going to protect them."

Talk to your kids about needle safety: Toronto Public Health

It's a message echoed by Toronto Public Health. 

Dr. Rita Shahin, who specializes in harm reduction, says it's never too early to talk to kids about needle safety. She says, depending on the child, it might be a good idea to show pictures.

"Talk to them about not picking up anything that's not their own toy," she said.

"Talk to them about needles and sharp objects, if you feel comfortable, and about reporting it, about not picking it up or playing with it as well."

Lily Slater says if other kids could learn anything from her story, she says the most important thing is "not touching needles."

School board steps up security

In an email to CBC Toronto, a spokesperson for the Toronto Catholic District School Board said it's not aware of any further incidents of syringes being found, and custodial staff continue to do regularly sweeps of school property.

The board has also stepped up security.

"The safety and well-being of our students and staff is deeply important to us. That's why security personnel have been assigned to do nightly inspections of the school grounds until further notice."