Are: Syringe was found in Italian ski team room

ARE, Sweden — Ski teams were warned to properly dispose of their medical supplies after a cleaning lady at one of their hotels was injured Saturday by a syringe in a waste receptacle. It was later learned that the needle was found on the premises of the Italian ski team

ARE, Sweden — Ski teams were warned to properly dispose of their medical supplies after a cleaning lady at one of their hotels was injured Saturday by a syringe in a waste receptacle.
    It was later learned that the needle was found on the premises of the Italian ski team, but International Ski Federation medical adviser Eero Hyvarinen, a supervisor at the World Championships, told The Associated Press that the needle wasn't tested for doping substances.
    "It was found on the Italian team's premises. There was nothing illegal,'' Hyvarinen said Sunday. ''It had nothing to do with doping.''
    Hyvarinen said it was not an infusion needle and he was told it had been used to administer a local anesthetic.
    Several teams were staying at the same hotel as the Italians.
    Italian team doctor Andrea Panzeri said he didn't believe his team was responsible.
    ''They say they found this needle in one of our rooms,'' Panzeri said. ''It's not anything extraordinary for needles to be lying around, but it seems really, really strange to me because the only needles we use are for laser therapy and we always put the needles away in the appropriate containers.''
    Panzeri said laser therapy was used on two Italian skiers — Patrick Staudacher for a knee problem and Nadia Fanchini for a calf injury. However, he said the needles used for that kind of therapy were much bigger than the one that was found.
    Teams often travel with their own physician, who sometimes administer vitamins or medication — such as cortisone — through injections.
    Italian team director Flavio Roda also said his team had nothing to do with the cleaning lady's injury.
    The woman underwent a series of tests and will need another series of tests in three months.
    Ski teams have been instructed to use special cans to discard medical supplies such as syringes, needles, drugs, salve tubes, pill packages and other wrappers.