The latest Health Protection Agency report on the occupational exposure of healthcare workers (HCWs) to bloodborne viruses (BBVs) shows that nine healthcare workers were infected with hepatitis C through needlestick injuries over the last six years, with seven reported between July 2003 and June 2004.
Between 1996 and 2004, 2140 incidents of significant occupational exposure to BBVs were reported to the Agency; 47% (997/2140) of these HCWs were exposed to hepatitis C and 26% (551/2140) to HIV. These figures, gathered through the Agency's monitoring programme, which looks at exposures to BBVs in healthcare settings, indicate that there are still too many exposures occurring. Although over half of the injuries looked at occurred during the procedure, over a third were after the procedure and during disposal of clinical waste, including exposures sustained while recapping needles or clearing clinical waste left by another worker.
Dr Fortune Ncube from the Health Protection Agency said, “The fact that preventable exposures are still occurring highlights the continued need to ensure that correct procedures are followed in the handling of sharps and in the disposal of clinical waste. Although the last case of a HCW occupationally contracting HIV was in 1999, it is vital that healthcare workers are aware of the importance of immediately reporting incidences following injury. Appropriate referral, testing and prompt treatment are also very important and can prevent the onset of infection and the need for specialist aftercare. It is also vital that healthcare workers infected through an occupational exposure are aware of the treatment options now available to them. Employers should support frontline staff and ensure that safety information and appropriate facilities for a safe working environment are available.”