Categories: Bloodborne pathogens, Health care
November 15th, 2011 1:00 pm ET -
Thomas Cunningham, PhD, and Garrett Burnett, MS, MBA
A dedicated and hard-working nurse is going through a normal shift. Checking vital signs, updating medical records, administering medications, comforting patients, drawing blood samples, inserting IVs, and then OUCH! What just happened? Is that a red dot underneath the glove? This can’t be right…
This scenario has unfolded thousands of times among health care workers, often with tragic results. The CDC estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually among health care workers in hospitals—with nurses the most affected healthcare occupation. The average risk of bloodborne infection following one of these all-too-common injuries is approximately 1.8%. While the numbers are appalling, the most harrowing costs emerge in the stories of the individuals affected.
One such story has been protrayed in the film Puncture.
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Categories: Bloodborne pathogens
October 27th, 2009 8:58 am ET -
Amy Mobley and Everett Lehman
Tattooists and piercers work in an industry that is unique in opportunities and challenges. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) began visiting tattooing and piercing studios in the 1990s in response to workplace safety and health concerns raised by artists in the industry. Based on these visits and interviews with artists, we found many had concerns about exposures to blood and bloodborne diseases. As a result, we created the NIOSH Body Art Topic Page in 2007 in an effort to clarify how bloodborne pathogen rules and regulations apply to these workers and how artists can lower their risk of contact with blood.
We would like to better meet the needs of tattooists and piercers by addressing other problems or topics of concern among body artists.
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Categories: Bloodborne pathogens, Health care
March 17th, 2008 8:33 am ET -
Walter Alarcon, MD, MSc
Each year an estimated 385,000 needlesticks and other sharps-related injuries are sustained by hospital-based healthcare personnel; an average of 1,000 sharps injuries per day. Healthcare workers are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and HIV if they come in contact with a patient’s blood. Surgical personnel such as surgeons, nurses, surgical technicians, and anesthesiologists are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens if they receive a percutaneous injury (a penetrating injury to the skin) from sharp surgical instruments.
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Categories: Bloodborne pathogens
February 4th, 2008 3:45 pm ET -
Everett Lehman, MS, MBA, and Amy Mobley, MS
Body art…. This may seem like an odd topic for a science blog, but not when you consider the artists’ risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Body art is popular and growing with an estimated 16,000 body artists working in the U.S. today. Body art, which typically consists of tattoos and body piercings, is an art form where the artists’ canvas is the human body.
When working on this unique medium, artists may come in contact with a client’s blood if they are stuck with the needle that they are using on a client (or stuck with a used needle during disposal), or if the client’s blood splashes into the eyes, nose, or mouth. Contact with another person’s blood may expose workers to bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These bloodborne pathogens can be dangerous and may cause permanent illness. If an artist gets one of these viruses, he or she may become ill and be unable to support his or her family. Also, since bloodborne pathogens can be spread through contact with blood and other bodily fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions, sexual partners could also be at risk of getting a bloodborne disease.
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A dedicated and hard-working nurse is going through a normal shift. Checking vital signs, updating medical records, administering medications, comforting patients, drawing blood samples, inserting IVs, and then OUCH! What just happened? Is that a red dot underneath the glove? This can’t be right…
