A 37-year-old Beijing man was overwhelmed with fear after he was accidentally pricked by the needle of a HIV-tainted syringe left by someone in the taxi.

Man stung by HIV-tainted syringe dumped in taxi.[Photo/Beijing News]

Xu Tian was riding in a taxi on Tuesday night when he felt a sting in his left knee and found a syringe sticking out of the magazine rack behind the car's front seat.

He was driven immediately to the Chaoyang District Disease Prevention and Control Center where doctors suspected the syringe might be HIV-contaimnated, Beijing News reported today.

A preliminary blood test showed the man wasn't infected with the fatal virus but he was told to wait another three months to rule out a potential HIV infection.

The cabbie surnamed Gong said he had no clues about the syringe user. "I got four deals after 6pm and three women sat in the rear seat, but I didn't notice them placing anything in the rack," he added.

Xu said he already spent 2,500 yuan (US$393.5) on medicines to curb the spread of the virus inside his body and he felt like vomiting after taking the pills.

Lun Wenhui, a doctor at Beijing Ditan Hospital, said HIV normally dies in dry conditions and since Xu took the medicines within 24 hours, he should be safe from HIV contraction.

However, Xu is still depressed because his girlfriend wanted to break up with him after hearing about his trouble, the paper said.

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