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Risk of infection Mar 7, 2008 Hi I got an accidental needle prick while administering local anesthetic. I was wearing surgical gloves at the time. Wat is the risk of infection from HCV and HBS? |
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| Response from Dr. McGovern
 Risk of needle transmission is governed by many factors including: Whether the source patient was infected, the level of infectivity of the source, the bore size of the needle, amount of blood on exposure ---similar to the risks of HIV transmission. The risk of acquiring HBV through a needlestick is much higher than HCV. If you have documented surface antibodies to HBV from prior vaccination (and I would guess that this has been documented in your record) you are not at risk for HBV. Most importantly, when you have an at-work exposure, you must go to employee health, report the exposure, and get follow-up testing for your own protection! | ||||||||
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