The 39-year-old was found in possession of an aluminium foil packet with a fake hole in it and an empty syringe
An Italian man was stopped by doctors after trying to avoid vaccination with a fake cast on his right arm.
The 39-year-old was found in possession of an aluminium foil packet with a fake hole in it and an empty syringe.
The false arm was wrapped in tissues, medical tape and a hood and was ready to be cut off to cause an infection, according to an article in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
A warrant was issued for his arrest.
In the article, it is explained that the man suffered an accident on a mountain. The paper added that he was unable to pay for surgery.
At the time of the incident he was being treated in a clinic in Padua, northern Italy.
“I think he had false injury,” one doctor told the paper. “That’s how it was practised in some cultures. It was not done like that in Italy.”
While it is not illegal to fake a cast, it is illegal to fake vaccinations for medical reasons. Italian doctors do use plaster casts, which are not retractable, on children to allow their joints and blood vessels to heal correctly.