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Are health
care workers at risk of getting HIV on the job?
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,
however. Scientists estimate that the risk of infection from
a needle jab 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.
Of the adults reported with
AIDS in the United States through December 31, 2000, 23,047 had
been employed in health care. These cases represented 5.1 percent
of the 453,462 AIDS cases reported to CDC for whom occupational
information was known (information on employment in the health
care setting was missing for 312,097 reported AIDS cases).
The type of job is known
for 21,634 (94%) of the 23,047 reported health care workers with
AIDS. The specific occupations are as follows: 1,730 physicians,
114 surgeons, 5,026 nurses, 479 dental workers, 440 paramedics,
3,014 technicians, 1,032 therapists, and 5,105 health aides.
The remainder are maintenance workers, administrative staff,
etc. Overall, 73% of the health care workers with AIDS, including
1,360 physicians, 87 surgeons, 3,726 nurses, 376 dental workers,
and 310 paramedics, are reported to have died.
CDC is aware of 57 health
care workers in the United States who have been documented as
having seroconverted to HIV following occupational exposures.
Twenty-five have developed AIDS. These individuals who seroconverted
include 19 laboratory workers (16 of whom were clinical laboratory
workers), 24 nurses, 6 physicians, 2 surgical technicians, 1
dialysis technician, 1 respiratory therapist, 1 health aide,
1 embalmer/morgue technician, and 2 housekeepers/maintenance
workers. The exposures were as follows: 48 had percutaneous (puncture/cut
injury) exposure, 5 had mucocutaneous (mucous membrane and/or
skin) exposure, 2 had both percutaneous and mucocutaneous exposure,
and 2 had an unknown route of exposure. Forty-nine health care
workers were exposed to HIV-infected blood, 3 to concentrated
virus in a laboratory, 1 to visibly bloody fluid, and 4 to an
unspecified fluid.
CDC is also aware of 138
other cases of HIV infection or AIDS among health care workers
who have not reported other risk factors for HIV infection and
who report a history of occupational exposure to blood, body
fluids, or HIV-infected laboratory material, but for whom seroconversion
after exposure was not documented. The number of these workers
who acquired their infection through occupational exposures is
unknown.
For more information on
universal precautions or occupational risks of HIV exposure,
call the CDC National Prevention Information
Network (operators
of the National AIDS Clearinghouse) at 1-800-458-5231. |
