BLOODBORNE INFECTIOUS DISEASES: HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C

Engineering Controls and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Safer Devices

List of Devices Designed to Prevent Percutaneous Injury and Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens in the Health Care Setting
Developed by the University of Virginia's International Health Care Worker Safety Center.

GAO Report on Cost/Benefit of Needlestick Prevention Devices
GAO letter responding to a request for an examination of the potential benefits and costs of changes that would be mandated under the proposed Health Care Worker Needlestick Prevention Act (HR 1899), requiring which the use of needles with safety features.

The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
NIOSH Respiratory protection resources for workers and healthcare professionals.

Use of Blunt-Tip Suture Needles to Decrease Percutaneous Injuries to Surgical Personnel: Safety and Health Information Bulletin
This bulletin is an advisory on the hazards of sharp-tip suture needles as a source of injuries to surgical personnel.

Blunt-Tip Surgical Suture Needles Reduce Needlestick Injuries and the Risk of Subsequent Bloodborne Pathogen Transmission to Surgical Personnel: FDA, NIOSH and OSHA Joint Safety Communication
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) strongly encourage health care professionals to use blunt-tip suture needles as an alternative to standard suture needles when suturing fascia and muscle to decrease the risk of needlestick injury.

International Sharps Injury Prevention Society (ISIPS)
ISIPS is an international group of medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, health organizations, healthcare professionals, and medical waste disposal experts. It was formed to reduce the number of accidental sharps injuries that occur globally by promoting the use of safety-engineered products and services.

TDICT
A user-based performance standard for the design, evaluation, and selection of medical devices.

TDICT: Evaluation Tools
Evaluation tools for evaluating medical devices.

Glass Capillary Tubes: Joint Safety Advisory About Potential Risks, February 1999
Recommended steps that can minimize the potential risk of injury and/or infection from bloodborne pathogens due to accidental breakage of glass capillary tubes.

Other Engineering Controls

Selecting, Evaluating, and Using Sharps Disposal Containers
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-111, January 1998
This document presents a comprehensive framework for selecting sharps disposal containers and evaluating their efficacy as part of an overall needlestick injury prevention plan.

Personal Protective Equipment Resources

Protective Clothing

Considerations for Selecting Protective Clothing used in Healthcare for Protection against Microorganisms in Blood and Body Fluids
This document provides an overview of scientific evidence and information on national and international standards, test methods, and specifications for fluid-resistant and impermeable gowns and coveralls used in healthcare. This document focuses on selecting protective clothing primarily on the basis of their barrier properties. It does not address all aspects of garments related to their design, integrity, durability, comfort, and functionality.

Latex Gloves

NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Latex Allergy
NIOSH resource page for latex allergies.

Preventing Allergic Reactions to Natural Rubber Latex in the Workplace
DHHS (NIOSH) Alert NIOSH Publication Number 97-135 (June 1997)
En Español
Describes six case reports of workers who developed latex allergy and presents NIOSH recommendations for minimizing latex-related health problems.

Latex Allergy—A Prevention Guide
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 98-113 (February 1999)
Latex gloves have proved effective in preventing transmission of many infectious diseases to health care workers, but for some workers exposures to latex may result in allergic reactions.

 

Eye Protection

NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Eye Protection for Infection Control
NIOSH topic page on eye protection for infection control.