Patients-to-healthcare workers HIV transmission risk from sharp injuries, Southern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND Accidental needlestick injury rate among healthcare workers in Hawassa is extremely high. Epidemiological findings proved the infectious potential of this injury contaminated with a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patient's blood. OBJECTIVE This study aimed at estimating the risk of HIV transmission from patients to healthcare workers in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. METHOD A probabilistic risk model was employed. Scenario-based assumptions were made for the values of parameters following a review of published reports between 2007 and 2010. PARAMETERS HIV prevalence, needlestick injury rate, exposure rate, sero-conversion rate, risk of HIV transmission and cumulative risk of HIV transmission. FINDING Generally, healthcare workers in Hawassa are considered to be at a relatively low (0.0035%) occupational risk of contracting HIV - less than 4 in 100,000 of healthcare workers in the town (1 in 28,751 workers a year). The 30 years' maximum cumulative risk estimate is approximately five healthcare workers per 1000 workers in the study area. Still, this small number should be considered a serious matter requiring post-exposure prophylaxis following exposure to unsafe medical practice leading to HIV infection.