August/September 2008 (vol. 05/2)

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Research Plus

Police and prison officers’ needlestick risks

An analysis of emergency department records in Rhode Island, USA, identified just 105 cases of a police or prison officer presenting because of an occupational blood or body fluids exposure over a 6.5 year period, though most (86%) were to an unknown HIV-status source. The annual incidence rate was 4.4 exposures per 1,000 officers; however, the vast majority of exposures did not carry a significant risk of HIV transmission – just 10% were percutaneous injuries and 6% were blood-to-mucous membrane splashes.

Occupational Medicine 2008; online first: doi:10.1093/occmed/kqn083  http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/58/7/502.abstract

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Occupational Health at Work August/September 2008 (vol. 05/2) pp38