Risks to Health Care Workers in Developing Countries

The first report of a health care worker infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by a needle stick, published in the medical literature in 1984,1 launched a new era of concern about the occupational transmission of blood-borne pathogens. In the United States, universal precautions were implemented,2 regulations such as the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard were issued,3 and the rate of vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) among health care workers increased dramatically.4 After a decade of phenomenal technological advances in sharp devices engineered for safety, the federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, requiring the use of safer devices, became law . . .