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AIDS - Accidents Involving Syringe Needles, Etc., Total 15,000 Cases Over Three Years

A research study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare's committee on AIDS surveillance  has uncovered 15,119 accidents in which medical doctors and nurses have mistakenly stuck themselves with syringe needles and drip infusion needles used for AIDS and hepatitis patients at the main AIDS-treatment hospitals throughout the country during the three years between 1996 and 1998. This has resulted in 28 cases in which such health care professionals were infected with hepatitis C, making it clear that the actual status of accident prevention measures are not adequate even at those main AIDS-treatment hospitals that should be especially well aware of the dangers of infectious diseases.
There were 88 cases of accidental punctures by needles used for patients infected with HIV, 1,862 cases by needles used for patients who had contracted hepatitis B, and 7,708 cases by needles used for patients infected with hepatitis C. While there were no cases in which the health care professionals involved were infected with HIV, 28 of those persons exposed were infected with hepatitis C.
In terms of the site of the incidents, the largest number of cases (4,557) occurred within wards, followed by 1,920 cases taking place at nursing stations and within corridors, and 1,857 cases occurring in operating departments. A breakdown of the occasions involved revealed that 3,665 cases occurred during patient treatment, 3,001 cases while attempting to cap the needle, and 2,476 cases during the time after the needle is used until it is safely discarded in a sharps receptacle. The incidence of such accidents totaled 4.2 cases per 100 beds annually.
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