The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on October 28, 2009
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckp163
Occupational blood exposure accidents in the Netherlands
Paul Th. L. van Wijk1,2, Peter M. Schneeberger1, Karin Heimeriks3, Greet J. Boland2,4, Ioannis Karagiannis3,5, Jacques Geraedts3 and Wilhelmina L. M. Ruijs3,6
1 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
2 National Hepatitis Centre, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
3 National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
4 Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
5 European Program on Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden
6 Department of Public Health, Nijmegen University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Correspondence: Paul Th. L. van Wijk, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, POB 90153, 5200 ME ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, tel: +31 73 6992875, fax: +31 73 6992580, e-mail: p.v.wijk{at}jbz.nl
Received April 23, 2009 , accepted September 18, 2009
Background: To make proper evaluation of prevention policies possible, data on the incidence and associated medical costs of occupational blood exposure accidents in the Netherlands are needed. Methods: Descriptive analysis of blood exposure accidents and risk estimates for occupational groups. Costs of handling accidents were calculated. Results: Each year, an estimated 13 000–15 000 blood exposure accidents are reported in the Netherlands, 95% in occupational settings. Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccination is offered free of charge only to people in risk groups, the seroprevalence of HBV, hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is low and few infections are related to blood exposure accidents. High-risk accidents occur mainly in hospitals. In nursing homes and home care settings, the majority of the accidents are low-risk. Limited data are available about occurrence of accidents in other occupational groups. Associated medical costs from occupational blood exposure accidents are mainly determined by the initial risk management. Conclusions: Accidents must be managed effectively to prevent infection and reduce anxiety in injured employees. While strategies to reduce HCV and HIV infection should be primarily aimed at reducing the occurrence of high-risk accidents, vaccination can prevent HBV infection and cut the costs of handling low-risk accidents. The implementation of vaccination strategies, safe working policies and the proper use of safe equipment should be monitored better.
Keywords: needle stick accident, blood exposure, occupational health, prevention, costs.