1. Patients-to-healthcare workers HIV transmission risk from sharp injuries, Southern Ethiopia.
- Author
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Desalegn B, Beyene H, and Yamada R
- Subjects
- Ethiopia epidemiology, Female, HIV Infections prevention & control, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Humans, Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional prevention & control, Male, Needlestick Injuries prevention & control, Needlestick Injuries virology, Occupational Diseases prevention & control, Occupational Diseases virology, Occupational Exposure prevention & control, Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Risk Assessment, HIV Infections epidemiology, HIV Infections transmission, Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional statistics & numerical data, Medical Staff, Hospital statistics & numerical data, Needlestick Injuries complications, Needlestick Injuries epidemiology, Occupational Diseases epidemiology, Occupational Exposure statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Background: Accidental needlestick injury rate among healthcare workers in Hawassa is extremely high. Epidemiological findings proved the infectious potential of this injury contaminated with a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patient's blood., Objective: This study aimed at estimating the risk of HIV transmission from patients to healthcare workers in Hawassa City, Ethiopia., Method: A probabilistic risk model was employed. Scenario-based assumptions were made for the values of parameters following a review of published reports between 2007 and 2010., Parameters: HIV prevalence, needlestick injury rate, exposure rate, sero-conversion rate, risk of HIV transmission and cumulative risk of HIV transmission., Finding: Generally, healthcare workers in Hawassa are considered to be at a relatively low (0.0035%) occupational risk of contracting HIV - less than 4 in 100,000 of healthcare workers in the town (1 in 28,751 workers a year). The 30 years' maximum cumulative risk estimate is approximately five healthcare workers per 1000 workers in the study area. Still, this small number should be considered a serious matter requiring post-exposure prophylaxis following exposure to unsafe medical practice leading to HIV infection.
- Published
- 2012
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