Are health care workers at risk of getting HIV on the job?
The risk of health care workers being exposed to HIV on the job is extremely low, especially if they carefully follow universal precautions (i.e., using protective practices and personal protective equipment to prevent HIV and other blood-borne infections). It is important to remember that casual, everyday contact with an HIV-infected person does not expose health care workers or anyone else to HIV. For health care workers on the job, the main risk of HIV transmission is through accidental injuries from needles and other sharp instruments that may be contaminated with the virus; however even this risk is small. Scientists estimate that the risk of infection from a needle-stick is less than 1 percent, a figure based on the findings of several studies of health care workers who received punctures from HIV-contaminated needles or were otherwise exposed to HIV-contaminated blood. The risk posed by a needle-stick injury may be higher if it is a deep injury; if it is made with a hollow bore
The risk of health care workers getting HIV on the job is very low, especially if they carefully follow universal precautions (i.e., using protective practices and personal protective equipment to prevent HIV and other blood-borne infections). It is important to remember that casual, everyday contact with an HIV-infected person does not expose health care workers or anyone else to HIV. For health care workers on the job, the main risk of HIV transmission is through accidental injuries from needles and other sharp instruments that may be contaminated with the virus. Even this risk is small. Scientists estimate that the risk of infection from a needle jab is less than 1 per cent, a figure based on the findings of several studies of health care workers who received punctures from HIV-contaminated needles or were otherwise exposed to HIV-contaminated blood.
• The risk of health care workers being exposed to HIV on the job is very low, especially if they carefully follow “universal precautions,” which are meant to protect them from exposure to all body fluids. The main risk of HIV transmission for health care workers on the job is through accidental injuries from needles and other sharp instruments that might be contaminated with the virus. However, even this risk is small. Scientists estimate that the risk of infection from a needlestick is less than 1%, a figure based on the findings of several studies of health care workers who received punctures from HIV-contaminated needles or were otherwise exposed to HIV-contaminated blood. If a health care worker is exposed to HIV-contaminated bodily fluid on the job, they can take medications to help reduce their risk of infection. These treatments, called post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, usually involve taking a four-week regimen of two or three antiretroviral drugs. The health worker should un
