Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids among Health Care Workers in Teaching Hospitals in Tehran, Iran.

These incidents potentially predispose HCWs to infection with blood borne pathogens (BBPs), the most important of which are hepatitis c virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immune deficiency virus (HIV).[ 1 ] The American Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated an annual rate of 385,000 needlestick and sharp injuries showing an increasing trend.[ 2 ] In November 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 2.5% of HIV contaminations as well as 40% of HBV and HCV positive cases among HCWs resulted due to occupational exposures.[ 3 ] Lack of documentation and reporting either the cutaneous injuries caused by sharp instruments or mucosal exposure to patients' body fluids are considered as a major pitfall to protect the HCWs.

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