Healthcare workers, in the U.S. and elsewhere, continue to suffer accidental needlestick injuries because their employers have been slow or reluctant to convert to needle safety devices, and because there are needle devices on the market that are safe in name only.
Accidental needlestick injuries cause healthcare workers to be exposed to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and many other bloodborne diseases.
- Accidental needlestick injuries to healthcare workers are estimated to occur at a rate of about 800,000 a year in the United States alone. Studies show that a great many are never reported.
- There are more than 20 bloodborne pathogens that can be transmitted by an accidental needlestick injury.