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Bloodborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, which exist in blood and other body fluids.
Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria that are carried in blood and can cause disease in people.
There are many different bloodborne pathogens, including malaria, syphilis, and brucellosis, and most notably Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Bloodborne pathogens such as HBV and HIV can be transmitted through contact with infected human blood and other potentially infectious body fluids such as:
- semen
- vaginal secretions
- cerebrospinal fluid
- synovial fluid
- pleural
fluid
- peritoneal fluid
- amniotic fluid
- saliva (in dental procedures), and
- any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood.
It is important to know the ways exposure and transmission are most likely to occur in your particular situation, be it providing first aid to a student in the classroom, handling blood samples in the laboratory, or cleaning up blood from a hallway.
HBV and HIV are most commonly transmitted through:
- sexual contact sharing of hypodermic needles
- from mothers to their babies at/before birth
- accidental puncture from contaminated needles, broken glass, or other sharps
- contact between broken or damaged skin and infected body fluids
- contact between mucous membranes and infected body fluids
- accidental
puncture from contaminated needles and other sharps can result in transmission of bloodborne pathogens.
Photo by Brandy Sites
Sharps Injuries: Bloodborne Pathogens
Bloodborne pathogens and workplace sharps injuries
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are three of the most common bloodborne pathogens from which health care workers are at risk. However, bloodborne pathogens are implicated in the transmissions of more than 20 other pathogens (Beltrami et al 2000external icon). Today, co-infection with multiple bloodborne diseases and multi-drug resistant organisms, including HIV, hepatitis B or C, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and co-morbidities associated with diabetes means that occupational exposure to health care workers can carry an even greater risk than in years past.
Health care workers are potentially exposed to these diseases in one of two ways:
- A percutaneous injury in which a health care worker is injured by a sharps object
- A mucocutaneous exposure incident with contact of a mucous membrane or non-intact skin with blood, tissue, or other potentially infectious bodily fluids
When personal protective equipment is not readily available or accessible, employees are less likely to wear it. This puts them at risk of exposure to blood and body fluids and vulnerability to bloodborne pathogens.
Overview
Hepatitis B virus can cause serious liver damage and death. Symptoms include jaundice, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. Approximately five percent of adult patients develop chronic infection with hepatitis B, which carries an estimated 20 percent lifetime risk of dying from cirrhosis and 6 percent risk of dying from liver cancer. Individuals infected with HBV at birth have a much higher likelihood of chronic infection, with approximately 90 percent of infants and 25–50 percent of children aged one to five years remaining chronically infected with HBV after initial infection. According to the CDC, new cases of HBV have not been trending either up or down since 2012, but rather have been fluctuating at around 3,000 new cases per year. In 2016, there were 3,218 cases reported to CDC. After adjusting for under-ascertainment and under-reporting, the estimated number of new HBV infections in 2016 was 20,900.
Risk of injury and transmission
The chance of becoming infected with hepatitis B from a sharps injury is estimated to be between six and 30 percent. National hepatitis surveillance data shows that approximately 400 health care workers became infected with HBV in 2001. This figure represented a 95 percent decline from the 17,000 new infections estimated in 1983. The decline was largely due to the widespread immunization of health care workers with hepatitis B vaccine and the use of universal precautions and other measures required by OSHA. As mentioned above, the CDC no longer collects post-exposure seroconversion data on occupationally acquired HBV.