Patients Transmitting HIV to Health Care Workers

In health care settings, such as hospitals and doctors’ offices, workers have been infected with HIV after being stuck with needles containing HIV-infected blood. Less frequently, workers have also contracted HIV after infected blood gets into an open cut or a mucous membrane (such as the eyes or inside of the nose) (1). Research suggests that infection after a needle stick injury is rare, happening about 3 times per 1000 injuries involving HIV-infected blood (2).

Health Care Workers Transmitting HIV to Patients

As of 2003, there has been only one documented case of a health care worker giving HIV to patients in the United States. In this case, an HIV-infected dentist gave HIV to six patients. Investigations of 63 HIV+ physicians, surgeons, and dentists and their more than 22,000 patients found no other cases of this type of transmission in the United States (1).

References:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fact Sheet: HIV and Its Transmission. Atlanta, Georgia: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003. Retrieved on January 14, 2004 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/transmission.htm.

2. Avert. Healthcare Workers, AIDS & Prevention. 2003. Retrieved on December 22, 2003 from http://www.avert.org/needlestick.htm.

3. Gerberding, J.L. Prevention of HIV Transmission in Health Care Settings. HIV InSite Knowledge Base Chapter, 1998. Retrieved on January 15, 2004 from http://www.hivinsite.com/
InSite.jsp?page=kb-07&doc=kb-07-02-08.

© Sociometrics Corporation, 2004