Risks of HIV infection in the health care setting.

This article focuses on the risks of acquiring HIV infection from occupational exposures especially in the health care setting. Health care workers mostly prone to HIV infection are nurses laboratory technicians surgeons housekeepers morgue technicians and non-nursing attendants. Based on multicenter trials of more than 3000 health care workers the risk of HIV infection is very high after needle stick injury or parenteral injury which result in direct inoculation of infected material. Meanwhile the risk is very low following mucous membrane exposure. Other factors which have profound effect on the risk of HIV infection in health care workers include the volume of inoculum the quantity of virus depth of penetration type and size of needle and actual infection of blood. Prevention of HIV infection among health care workers is achieved by minimizing or eliminating occupational exposure to infective materials especially blood products. This is done by encouraging use of engineering and work practice controls and through training and medical surveillance labeling of hazardous material and universal precautions for infection control. In the US occupational safety and health agency (OSHA) regulates all these measures. Furthermore the new OSHA regulation require hospitals and health care facilities to have a policy for the management of HIV exposure that includes pre-exposure training immediate post exposure care post-exposure counseling and long term management.