Health care workers and Aids

Health care workers and Aids

All health care workers - be that medical doctors, nursing staff or other support personnel - run the risk of being infected, and because of their unique employment environment should even be more careful and should demand that correct protocol be followed and maintained at all times.
health care providers, aids, professionals, doctors, dentists, nurses, protocol, infected, needle, sharps on this page

* Exposure to the HIV virus
* Needle stick injury
* Some simple guidelines

Exposure to the HIV virus

Should a health care worker be exposed to the HIV virus, post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) drugs should be taken within 3 hours or no later than 24 - 48 hours after the incident.

Depending on the circumstances a 2 or 3 drug regimen is normally followed for a four week period.

This also applies to percutaneous exposure (needle stick injury) as well as mucocutaneous exposure (transmission by means of mucous membrane and/or skin) - although the transmission danger is less through mucocutaneous exposure.

HIV Immune Responses are Random

HIV Immune Responses are Random
New research shows the body's defenses against HIV are random rather than genetically determined, which may be why it's so difficult to develop an AIDS vaccine. The UCLA AIDS Institute study shows the immune systems in two HIV-positive identical twins responded to the infection in different ways.

In 1983, male twins were infected with HIV shortly after their births in Los Angeles by blood transfusions from the same donor at the same time. The twins have been exposed to the same environmental factors, yet their T-cell receptors reacted differently in each twin. Researchers say this shows the body's defense response is random and unpredictable.

"These boys are as similar as two humans can be, yet we see differences in how they fight the virus," says Paul Krogstad, Ph.D., study researcher and professor of pediatrics and pharmacology. "That's one more thing that makes it difficult to develop a vaccine for everyone."

UCLA researchers say the study results have broader implications and could apply to other viruses, such as hepatitis C and herpes viruses.

© World Health Organization 2009

© World Health Organization 2009
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Where can I get tested?

Where can I get tested?

You can arrange for testing through your doctor or healthcare provider or public health department. Other places where you may be able to get tested are at your local community health center, family planning clinic, STD clinic, or hospital. For those who prefer anonymity, any FDA-approved home testing kit is accurate and reliable.

It's important for you to be aware that counseling is an important part of HIV testing. It may be done face-to-face with a doctor, at a testing site with a counselor, or over the phone with a counselor working for a home-collection testing kit company. These conversations play a valuable role in informing anyone who's tested negative about maintaining their negative status and advising those who test positive about their health care.

When it comes to HIV testing, the old cliché, "knowledge is power," still holds true. Knowing your accurate HIV status, whether negative or positive, puts you in the best position to protect your health.

Every state has its own HIV Hotline where information can be obtained about where to get tested, including anonymously, in those states in which anonymous testing is available.

In the following states, only confidential but not anonymous testing is available: Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

In all other states both anonymous and confidential testing is available.

Some useful phone numbers:

CDC National STD and AIDS Hotlines for testing referral information:

• 1-800-342-2437 (English)
• 1-800-344-7432 (Spanish)