HTLV-II transmission to a health care worker - 17/08/11
Reprint requests: Marcio Menna-Barreto, MD, PhD, Division of Neurology, Hospital São Lucas, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av Eng Alfredo Correa Daudt 455–CEP 90480-120, Porto Alegre, Brazil.Porto Alegre, Brazil
Abstract |
Health care workers, mainly in emergency and forensic services, are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and type II (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) are cosmopolitan human delta retroviruses causing endemic infection in Japan, the Caribbean basin, South America, and sub-Saharan Africa, and in clusters among intravenous drug users in Europe and the United States. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II among Brazilian blood donors ranges from 0.08% to 1.35%. HTLV-I transmission to a Japanese researcher has already been reported. We describe the transmission of HTLV-II infection to a Brazilian laboratory worker caused by a needlestick injury when she was recapping a syringe after collecting material for arterial blood gas analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an occupational transmission of HTLV-II to a health care worker.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Plan
Vol 34 - N° 3
P. 158-160 - avril 2006 Retour au numéro
Article précédent
- The role of chiropractic adjusting tables as reservoirs for microbial diseases
- Antonio E. Bifero, Jaya Prakash, Jeff Bergin
- Underdiagnosis of Hospital-acquired Legionnaires disease in Singapore
- Yu-sen E. Lin, Victor L. Yu
Bienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?