Table of Contents Newsletters & Articles Island News Women's News Conferences Guam Calendar The Arrow Family

Needlestick injuries: Accidental work exposure When health care workers are accidentally exposed to HIV on the job, they are increasingly prescribed a cocktail of drugs similar to that used to treat infected patients and, at least in the short term, often saved from infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CrD) reports that the combination of drugs is effective as a so-called postexposure prophylaxis in 79 percent of such cases if it is started within one or two hours of exposure. The CDC has, recommended that the treatment be given all health workers exposed to HIV on the job. Other uses of the treatment are being considered, such as HIV prevention for rape victims and intravenous drug users who have been exposed to the vinus. However, the CDC is reluctant to extend the recommendations due to gaps in understanding how HIV is transmitted and the side effects of the drugs. Although health care workers who are accidentally exposed to HIV on the job are routinely offered antiviral drugs to reduce their risk of infection, this option is not generally extended to people who are accidentally exposed to the virus Health officials are now considering expancling the treatment for certain sexual exposures like when a condom breaks or exposure during rape. David Bell, chief of the HIV infections branch of the hospital infections program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, notes, "We get calls from rape crisis centers, and the CDC AIDS hotline has been getting calls" from people concemed about infection after possible exposure during a high risk sexual encounter or when a condom breaks. At some San Francisco hospitals, health officials plan to offer the preventive treatment starting this spring. The drugs are already offered to rape victims in British Columbia's Women's Hospital. After an HIV exposure, the CDC currently recommends immediate treatment with a combination of zidovudine (AZT) and lamivudine (3TC) (or in some cases indinavir). Over the coming months, the CDC will develop recommendations for preventive treatment for some kinds of sexual exposure. (CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse 1/14/97 and 2/4/97)