NIOSH Testimony on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Proposed Rule on Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens by J. Donald Miller, September 12, 1989

摘要

The testimony is offered by NIOSH in support of the Centers for Disease Control in an effort to protect American workers from occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens. The rulemaking activity in question focuses on the risks of occupational transmission of bloodborne pathogens, primarily hepatitis-B virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are three sources of data available to the Centers for Disease Control on the occupational risk of HIV infection in health care workers. The data indicate that transmission of HIV infection to health care workers has followed occupational exposure to HIV infected blood via percutaneous inoculation or via contact with mucous membranes on nonintact skin; that transmission due to occupational exposure to a body fluid other than blood has not been documented; that the risk of HIV infection after a single needlestick or injury with a sharp object contaminated with HIV infected blood is about four per thousand; and the risk of HIV infection after a single mucous membrane or nonintact skin exposure to HIV infected blood is probably considerably less.