Eye of the Needle: infection risks reported

Bloodborne viruses are a hidden risk for every healthcare worker. While this potential risk is part of clinical practice for millions of interventions every year; the consequences of ignoring the risk or becoming complacent about the potential dangers can be disastrous for the individual. It is also true that the consequences of an injury can be silent and hidden, although eventually causing irreversible liver damage or worse.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B (HBV) is a bloodborne and sexually transmitted virus which causes inflammation of the liver. Many infected people have no symptoms, but others have a flu-like illness with nausea and jaundice. Hepatitis B becomes a chronic infection when the infection persists longer than six months. HBV transmission occurs by percutaneous or permucosal exposure to infective body fluids, or perinatally from mother to child. Hepatitis B vaccine can prevent hepatitis B infection. All healthcare workers should be immunised against hepatitis B infection and should be shown to have made a serological response to the vaccine. Universal precautions (now standard) should be adhered to in the hospital setting. In other occupational groups, such as embalmers and morticians there is also an established risk and immunisation is recommended.1