An unvaccinated health care worker is exposed percutaneously to blood from a patient who has a history of intravenous drug abuse. For which of the following viruses would postexposure vaccination most likely be indicated?
After exposure to a patient’s blood as a result of a needlestick injury, it is important that the health care worker report the exposure to the employee health department or other responsible institutional agency. It appears that approximately half of such exposures are not reported. After exposure, the patient and/or the health care worker should be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
In the case of hepatitis B exposure, hepatitis B immuno-globulin and hepatitis B vaccination should be administered to those who are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. If the health care worker has previously been vaccinated and has acceptable levels of antihepatitis B surface antibody, no therapy is required.
In the case of the...
