May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, which makes this the perfect time to talk to employees about hepatitis risks and prevention.
Hepatitis is caused by bloodborne pathogens (BBPs). BBPs are microorganisms found in blood or other bodily fluids that can cause disease. One of these pathogens is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. The other major pathogen is hepatitis, including hepatitis A (HAV), B (HBV), and C (HCV) viruses, which affect the liver and can lead to fatal liver diseases. See the Why It Matters bullet points for the prevalence of all these BBPs in the United States today.
BBPs are a hazard for employees who may encounter blood or other bodily fluids on the job. This group primarily includes workers at healthcare facilities, emergency responders, and law enforcement professionals; however, anyone can potentially be exposed to BBPs. So while the risk may be small in your workplace, the potential danger still exists. Therefore, it makes safety sense to discuss BBPs with your employees.
Fortunately, you can reassure your employees that these pathogens exist only in blood and body fluids, so the illnesses are not transmitted by casual contact such as:
- Using public facilities or objects that infected people have touched or used
- Being coughed or sneezed on by an infected person
- Being in the same room with or touching an infected person
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Inform your employees about the most common means of transmitting these illnesses. Transmission channels include:
- Sexual contact
- Sharing drug needles
- Being stuck with an infected needle or other sharp instrument
- Direct contact with infected bodily fluids
Urge your employees to practice “universal precautions” to prevent the spread of bloodborne infections. That means treating all blood and other potentially infectious bodily fluids as if they are infectious. For example:
- Wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, eye and face protection, and protective clothing. These are often included in BBP kits.
- Inspect PPE before use to be sure it is undamaged.
- Remove contaminated PPE without the contaminated areas touching your skin.
- Dispose of PPE in proper containers so that it can’t spread infection.
- Wash carefully with soap and water after any exposure to blood or bodily fluids.
- Treat all needles and sharps as if they are contaminated.
- Don’t reach your hand into a container that might contain sharps.
- Use tongs or a similar tool, not your hands, to clean up broken glass.
- Properly clean and decontaminate surfaces and equipment that have had contact with infectious materials.
- Wear gloves and use leakproof containers to handle or transport possibly contaminated laundry.
- Don’t eat, drink, smoke, apply cosmetics, or handle contact lenses in areas that could contain infectious materials.
Once again, reassure employees that the chance that they will contract a bloodborne disease is small. And encourage them that by taking proper precautions, they can make it even smaller.
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Why It Matters
- According to the Hepatitis Foundation, in recent years 25,000 to 30,000 Americans are infected with HAV annually.
- There are an estimated 1.25 million to 2 million Americans chronically infected with HBV.
- An estimated 3 million to 4 million Americans are chronically infected with HCV, with many showing no signs or symptoms and are thus unaware of their infection. About 18,000 new infections were reported in a recent year.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1 recent year in the United States, 35,962 cases of AIDS were diagnosed, and 14,110 deaths among people living with HIV were reported.