Nurse Fired After Reusing HIV-Contaminated Insulin Vial on 12 Jail Inmates
A Texas corrections nurse was fired and is being investigated for allegedly exposing over a dozen inmates with the HIV virus.
The incident occurred on February 13, 2026, at a McLennan County jail in Texas and affected inmates with diabetes, as the nurse injected them with insulin that was exposed to the virus.
The nurse, who has not been publicly named, allegedly drew up insulin in a syringe from a multi-dose vial, injected an inmate with his insulin dose, then used the same needle and syringe to draw more insulin from the vial to administer additional insulin to him.
After injecting him with the same needle twice, the nurse then disposed of the needle but continued to draw up insulin with additional syringes from the same multi-dose insulin vial that had been used on the inmate with HIV. In total, she injected 12 additional inmates with diabetes from the contaminated vial.
The nurse was only caught because another corrections worker spotted the nurse drawing up the insulin with the same needle and syringe and questioned the nurse about her actions.
One of the allegedly affected inmates’ wives, Penelope Cortez, shared with local news that her husband, Edward Cortez, 51, received a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medication by the jail that is given after suspected HIV exposure.
PEP is a 28-day course of medication given after exposure in hopes of stopping the virus from replicating in the body. Once someone is infected with HIV, the virus lives forever in the body and can lead to AIDS or other harmful health conditions.
Despite some fears Cortez expressed about possible “retaliation” over going public with the incident, the concerned spouse said she believes someone needs to be “held accountable” for the potentially deadly mistake.
“My husband is now afraid to take insulin from the jail,” Penelope Cortez told the news outlet. “He don’t trust them anymore. He is very afraid and his head is just spinning around. He don’t know what to think anymore, but somebody has to be held accountable if something happens to him.”
The nurse who contaminated the insulin vial by reusing a needle after injecting the inmate with HIV has been fired and is under investigation by the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office.
Pending investigation results, it’s not immediately clear what charges the nurse could face.
However, no matter what happens, the case is an important reminder to all nurses to follow proper protocol and precautions when using multi-dose insulin vials:
- Never re-inject a used needle into a patient or the vial
- Never reuse a needle to administer additional insulin
- Never use the same needle between patients
- Clean the insulin vial thoroughly between doses
- Always inspect needles before drawing up insulin to ensure the needle is intact
