POST 00701E : ACCIDENTAL NEEDLESTICK 28 July 2004
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Vladimir Petrovic (mailto:[email protected]) from Serbia-Montenegro, asks a
question that goes far beyond the scope of secondary prevention in public
health. I will let specialists respond to the question of immediate
Hepatitis B risks in the circumstances he describes. Whatever we do, it is
a grave psycho-social problem affecting so many societies, that of drug
addiction, as it is surely the case here. Primary prevention would consist,
even if it seems impossible to eradicate drug addiction (Nobody ever
succeeded!), at least to limit the damage with a syringes programme for
used, shared and thrown-away-anywhere syringes. This has met with definite
success in many places.
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I am thankful for your help with my previous question about HepB vaccine
dose intervals. Now I would like to start another discussion.
We often have a situation during summer. Children during playtime
accidentally stick themselves with needles left in surrounding areas
(parks, playgrounds) by an unknown user. These cases are usually indication
for immunization against tetanus (additional shots), but the question
remains : "How to act regarding protection against parenterally-transmitted
diseases including hepatitis B considering that in needles and syringes
sometimes we can observe the remains of haemolyzed or coagulated blood ?"
Vladimir Petrovic
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