[Risk of occupationally acquired HIV infection among health manpower. A review of known cases].

In the world literature, 31 probable or certain cases of occupational HIV-infection among health staff have been described during a period of ten years from 1977. In 17 cases needle punctures had occurred while cuts or skin/mucosal exposure had occurred on 11 occasions. The predominant route of infection was thus percutaneous lesions most frequently in connection with giving injections or taking blood samples and the most exposed persons were nurses and laboratory staff. Cohort investigations of HIV-infection following percutaneous exposure include a total of approximately 1,500 persons and the risk of seroconversion, ie infectionsness, was, in these cases, 0.5% (0.2-1.1%), on an average. The occupational risk for HIV-infection among health staff in Denmark is low and is determined by the infectionsness, incidence of exposure (particularly needle punctures) and the prevalence of carrieres of infection. On the basis of certain assumptions about the incidence of needle punctures and the prevalence of HIV-carriers the average risk for nurses is calculated to be 1 per 100 years or 1 per 20,000 staff.