Abstracto

The Risks of Contaminated Needle Stick Injuries

Haider Abdul-Lateef Mousa

Contaminated needle prick injuries are a major occupational hazard for health care workers, laboratory technicians, hospitals cleaners, and garbage-collecting employees. The heavy load at emergency department and improper waste disposal are the most prominent factors of these accidents. Municipal and health institutions garbage collecting workers most likely do not have knowledge about the infectious risks of needle prick injuries. Therefore, it is an ethical matter and mandatory to educate, warn and train these workers to avoid such injuries. Furthermore, needles and biological infectious material must be discarded properly and kept into secured containers to prevent risks of exposure.