Four people have undergone surgery to remove severely infected tissue from their limbs after receiving unhygienic acupuncture in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Microbiologists at the University of Hong Kong believe that acupuncturists failed to observe antiseptic procedures, as a result of which infections by a group of bacteria called mycobacteria set in.
The university's finding is the world's first documented mycobacteria infection related to acupuncture, although there have been documented cases of patients being infected with HIV and hepatitis through it.
The finding was published in the latest issue of the New England Medical Journal.
Improper use of disinfectants on needles is believed to be the main reason why bacteria continued to grow and infect the patients' wrists, legs or ankles. A 79-year-old woman even suffered bone infection.
The microbiologists believe disinfectant used during the acupuncture was of wrong concentration. The problem is thought to be similar to infections at Shenzhen Women's and Children's Hospital in 1998.