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AIDS​—Health-​Care Workers Take Precautions!

“HEALTH care workers are at risk of acquiring HIV from infected patients.” This warning, from the College of Medicine of South Africa, is quoted in the South African Medical Journal. It comes in the wake of a number of deaths of medical professionals who lost their lives because of accidental AIDS infection.

Directives aimed at protecting health-​care workers are now being taken very seriously. The following are some points from the policy statement of the college to medical personnel who, in the course of their duties, may come into contact with HIV-​positive persons:

In a nonemergency situation, should a patient refuse a blood test for the AIDS virus, the health-​care worker has the option to “terminate professional care . . . after full discussion with the patient.” A warning is issued that in the emergency situation, all patients should be “treated as if HIV positive.”

In an addendum to the document, an extensive list of precautionary steps is outlined. For example, the wearing of rubber gloves “when touching blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or any compromised skin areas . . . , when handling items or surfaces soiled with blood or body fluids . . . , when performing procedures in which hands are likely to be contaminated with blood.” Health-​care workers are also advised to “wear masks and protective eye or face shields during procedures likely to generate droplets of blood or body fluids.”

An entire subsection is devoted to warning health-​care workers against carrying unsheathed needles or leaving used sharp objects lying around. Even the “direct passing of sharp instruments between theatre personnel” during operations should be avoided. Furthermore, it is advised that “all blood or body-​fluid specimens should be placed in sturdy, leakproof containers” and that these should be dispatched only in a “waterproof plastic bag or container.”

Should the health-​care worker become exposed to the virus either by a contaminated sharp object causing injury or by blood coming into contact with an open lesion, immediate action is advised. Says the document: “The health care worker should be tested for HIV at the time of exposure, and again at 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months. During this time special precautionary measures should be employed to prevent sexual transmission to the health care worker’s sexual partner(s).”

These measures reflect a growing trend on the part of informed medical personnel toward greater caution in the use and handling of blood.