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AIDS/HIV
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HIV from a needle stick?
Originally Published: April 20, 2001
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Dear Alice, What are your chances of getting HIV, or any other disease, from a needle prick on the finger? (The needle had just been used to collect tubes of blood from a patient, set on the table, and pricked you.)
Dear Reader, Needlestick injuries are common in health care settings; it's estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 such percutaneous injuries occur each year in the United States. These injuries expose health care workers not only to HIV, but also to other blood-borne pathogens, such as hepatitis B and C. In terms of HIV, 55 "documented" cases and 136 "possible" cases of HIV transmission through needlestick injuries were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1985 and 1999. Cases listed as "possible" include those where the CDC cannot clearly link HIV transmission to a needlestick injury as opposed to another risk factor, such as unprotected sex. It's important to keep in mind that most needlestick injuries do not involve HIV-infected blood. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that of the some 800,000 injuries each year, only about 2 percent (approximately 16,000) involve needles that are likely to be contaminated with HIV. Of those 2 percent of needlestick injuries where HIV-infected blood is known to be present, the chance of HIV transmission is estimated to be between 0.3 and 0.45 percent. The risk of transmission may be increased, however, if the needle is visibly bloody, if the procedure involved placing the needle in one of the patient's veins or arteries, or if there was a deep injury. Obviously, since 98 percent of needlestick injuries do not involve HIV-infected blood, your chance of getting HIV from a random needle stick is significantly lower than the above figures. Regardless of the statistics, getting tested for HIV can tell you for sure whether or not you've been infected. Read HIV transmission: When does it show up on a blood test? in Alice's Sexual Health archive for specific information about HIV testing. Health care workers who have been stuck with a needle known to be contaminated with HIV-infected blood may elect to begin a regimen of post-exposure prophylaxis as soon as possible after the prick. Usually, health care workers will take zidovudine (AZT) or lamivudine (3TC); a CDC study from 1995 found that exposed health care workers who took post-exposure prophylaxis were 79 percent less likely to become infected. Health care workers also need to be aware of the risk for contracting hepatitis B and C from needlestick injuries. Hepatitis B (HBV) is more easily transmissible than HIV, and is one of the more common blood-borne pathogens among health care workers. The CDC approximates the probability of contracting HBV from a needlestick injury to be anywhere between 6 and 30 percent. It's also estimated that between 100 and 200 health care workers die each year from HBV infection. Since a vaccine is available, health care workers are advised to be immunized. Hepatitis C (HCV) can cause chronic liver disease but, unlike for HBV, no vaccine is available yet. In 1995, there were an estimated 560 - 1,120 cases of HCV infection among health care workers in the U.S. For more information about hepatitis B and C, check out the related Q&As below.
Related Q&As |
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