Occupational health issues for providers of care to patients with HIV infection

The perception that HIV is a highly contagious nosocomial pathogen persists despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary. However, health care workers are at a low but finite risk of occupational infection with the virus, particularly through accidental needle-stick inoculations with infected blood. Universal blood and body fluid precautions minimize the risk of nosocomial transmission of a variety of pathogens, including HIV, and should be routinely employed by all health care workers for all patients.