The Occupational Safety and Health ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that 600000 needle-stick injuries be met with in US hospitals each year, according to a Aug 4 2000 recently made knowns release from Frontline Healthcare Workers Safety Foundation. This number does not take into consideration those crisis medical personnel, firefighters, and other public safety professionals who are injured.

The greatest risk for health care workers is the occupational transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) The risk of contracting HCV is 40% to 50% greater than the risk of contracting HIV. Unlike HIV, no federal health regulations exist regarding screening, early intervention medication therapy, or post-exposure prophylaxis for HCV

A latter study shows that for each dollar spent on curative HCV treatment now, $4 can be saved. This means savings to employer benefit stores and tax-payers, as well as prevention of the disease.

popularly $15 billion per year is exhausted by the US health care order to care for those with HCV on 2021, it is projected that this will reach $26 billion.

Healthcare Workers Face National Crisis--Conference Focuses on-Safety requires of America's Workers (news release, Washington, DC Frontline Healthcare Workers Safely Foundation, Aug 4 2000) 1-3 Available from http://www.newsdesk.com/members/showdoc.htm?file =pr138287txt Accessed 7 August 2000

COPYRIGHT 2000 Association of Operating field Nurses, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group