Who is at Risk?

All categories of Health Care Personnel (HCP) are at a potential risk of acquiring HIV infection during care of an HIV infected patient.

Definition of "Health Care Personnel" & Exposure
"Health Care Personnel (HCP)" are defined as "any person (e.g. employees, students, clinicians, public safety workers or volunteers) whose activities involve contact with patients or with blood or other body fluids from patients in a health care or laboratory setting".

An "exposure" that may place an HCP at risk of HIV infection is defined as a percutaneous injury (e.g. needle-stick or cut with a sharp instrument), contact of mucous membrane or non-intact skin (esp. when the exposed skin is chapped, abraded, or afflicted with dermatitis), or contact with intact skin when the duration of contact is prolonged (e.g. several minutes or more) with blood or other potentially infectious body fluids. Body fluids that are potentially infectious include - blood, semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, peritoneal, pericardial and amniotic fluids or other body fluids contaminated with visible blood. Exposure to tears, sweat, urine, faeces, saliva of an HIV infected person is normally not considered as an "exposure" unless these secretions contain visible blood.