Adult Infectious Disease Notes

The risks to Healthcare Workers (HCW's) of occupationally-acquired infection with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and, to a lesser extent, Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) have been reasonably well quantified within this article. It also examines the risks of transmitting these blood borne viruses from healthcare workers to patients in medical and dental settings.

Evidence from the HIV and HBV experiences suggest that the risk of infection is increased when the level of viremia (presence of a virus in the blood) is high. It has also been recognized that patients may acquire one of these viruses following significant exposure to the blood of an infected HCW.

While the magnitude of this risk is less to HCW's than it is to patients, the 1990 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailing a Florida dentist who had transmitted HIV to patients in the course of dental care triggered widespread public concern about the risk of infection from HCW's.

In 1991 CDC published recommendations for preventing HIV and HBV transmission to patients, which included the recommendation that HCW's who are infected with HIV or HBV should not perform exposure-prone procedures unless they have sought counsel from an expert review panel.

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