title: Occupational exposure to body fluids among health care workers in Georgia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of being infected with blood-borne pathogens.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses and determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among HCWs in Georgia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included HCWs from seven medical institutions in five cities in Georgia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic, occupational and personal risk factors for blood-borne viruses. After obtaining informed consent, blood was drawn from the study participants for a seroprevalence study of HBV, HCV and HIV infections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1386 participating HCWs from a number of departments, including surgery (29%), internal medicine (19%) and intensive care (19%). Nosocomial risk events were reported by the majority of HCWs, including accidental needlestick injury (45%), cuts with contaminated instruments (38%) and blood splashes (46%). The most frequent risk for receiving a cut was related to a false move during a procedure, reassembling devices and handing devices to a colleague. The highest proportion of needlestick injuries among physicians (22%) and nurses (39%) was related to recapping of used needles. No HIV-infected HCW was identified. Prevalence of HCV infection was 5%, anti-HBc was present among 29% with 2% being HBsAg carriers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data from this study can be utilized in educational programs and implementation of universal safety precautions for HCWs in Georgia to help achieve similar reductions in blood-borne infection transmission to those achieved in developed countries.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia. maiabutsashvili@gmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Butsashvili
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kamkamidze
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajaia
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Triner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dehovitz
authors.forename: L-A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: McNutt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D001826:Body Fluids; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D006282:Health Personnel; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult