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Hospital Infections:
Health-Care Worker Surveillance
ENROLLING IN SURVEILLANCE
If your hospital wishes to enroll an individual in CDC's ongoing national surveillance of health-care workers who have been occupationally exposed to HIV, please contact your infection control practitioner, State Health Department, or the Centers for Disease Control at (404) 639-6425.
SURVEILLANCE SUMMARY
Data from several ongoing surveillance studies indicate that the risk of acquiring HIV after a needlestick-exposure to HIV-infected blood is about 0.3%.
In August, 1983, the CDC initiated a nationwide surveillance project to assess the risk to healthcare workers of acquiring HIV infection resulting from a documented percutaneous, that is a needlestick or cut with a sharp object, or mucousmembrane exposure to the blood or other body fluids of an HIV-infected person. As of June 30, 1994 a total of 2010 healthcare workers exposed to blood of HIVinfected persons had been enrolled in the project and tested for HIV antibody at least 180 days after exposure. One thousand, seven hundred and seventy three (88%) had percutaneous exposures, 124 (6%) had open-wound exposures, and 113 (6%) had mucous-membrane exposures. Of the 1773 workers with percutaneous exposures, 4 (0.3%) were seropositive for HIV antibody. The 4 health-care workers each sustained needlestick injury, tested negative for HIV antibody initially, suffered an acute mononucleosis-like illness within 1 month after the exposure, and subsequently became HIV-antibody positive within 6 months after the date of exposure.
Of the 237 healthcare workers who had openwound or mucous membrane exposures, none seroconverted.
In other prospective studies in the U.S., 3 other healthcare workers have been documented to seroconvert to HIV after percutaneous exposure to HIVinfected blood. For more information on these cases, please refer to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of April 22, 1988, Vol. 37, No. 15.
If your hospital wishes to enroll an individual in CDC's ongoing national surveillance of health-care workers who have been occupationally exposed to HIV, please contact your infection control practitioner, State Health Department, or the Centers for Disease Control at (404) 639-6425.
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