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HIV transmission in healthcare settings

In healthcare settings, such as hospitals and doctors’ offices, workers have been infected with HIV after being stuck with needles containing HIV-infected blood. Less frequently, workers also have contracted HIV after infected blood gets into an open cut or comes in contact with a mucous membrane (such as the eyes or inside of the nose) (CDC, 2003). Research suggests that infection after a needle stick injury is rare, happening about 3 times per 1,000 injuries involving HIV-infected blood (Noble, 2003).

As of 2003, there has been only one documented case of a healthcare worker giving HIV to patients in the United States. In this case, an HIV-infected dentist gave HIV to six patients. Investigations of 63 physicians, surgeons, and dentists with HIV and their more than 22,000 patients found no other cases of this type of transmission in the United States (CDC, 2003).

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