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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.0" xml:lang="en"
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    <front>
        <journal-meta>
            <journal-id journal-id-type="issn">0973-7510</journal-id>
            <journal-title-group>
                <journal-title>Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology</journal-title>
            </journal-title-group>
            <issn pub-type="epub">2581-690X</issn>
            <publisher>
                <publisher-name>DR. M.N. Khan</publisher-name>
            </publisher>
        </journal-meta>
        <article-meta>
            <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22207/JPAM.14.1.63</article-id>
            <title-group>
                <article-title>Occupational Blood Exposures in Health Care Workers at a Tertiary Teaching Hospital: Incidence, Characteristics and Transmission of Blood Borne Pathogens</article-title>
            </title-group>
            <contrib-group>
				
				
				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
                        <surname>Deva</surname>
                        <given-names>Anitha</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/>
                </contrib>
				
				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
                        <surname>Kamarthi</surname>
                        <given-names>Prabhakar</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/>
                </contrib>
				
				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
                        <surname>Hepzibai</surname>
                        <given-names>Jebamani</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-3"/>
                </contrib>
				
				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
                        <surname>A.V.</surname>
                        <given-names>Jyothi</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-3"/>
                </contrib>
				
				<contrib contrib-type="author">
                    <name>
                        <surname>Parvangada Madappa</surname>
                        <given-names>Beena</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/>
                </contrib>
				
							
				
				            		
            </contrib-group>
			
			
          <aff id="aff-1">Department of Microbiology, SDUMC, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.</aff>	 
			<aff id="aff-2">Department of Medicine, SDUMC, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.</aff>
			<aff id="aff-3">Infection control nurse, SDUMC, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.</aff>
			
			
            <pub-date publication-format="electronic" date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2020-03-07">
                <day>07</day>
				<month>03</month>
                <year>2020</year>
            </pub-date>
            <volume>14</volume>
            <issue>1</issue>
            <fpage>609</fpage>
            <lpage>614</lpage>
            <permissions>
                <copyright-statement>Copyright &#x00A9; 2020 The Author(s)</copyright-statement>
                <copyright-year>2020</copyright-year>
                <license license-type="open-access"
                    xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
                    <license-p>This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.<uri 
					xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
                            >https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</uri></license-p>
                </license>
            </permissions>
            <self-uri xlink:href="https://microbiologyjournal.org/occupational-blood-exposures-in-health-care-workers-at-a-tertiary-teaching-hospital-incidence-characteristics-and-transmission-of-blood-borne-pathogens"/>
            <abstract>
                <p>Health care workers (HCW) are at risk of contracting Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Human immunodeficiency viruses through Occupational Blood Exposure (OBE). Information on the incidence rate, epidemiological characteristics and transmission rate are essential to formulate effective preventive measures and management of OBE. To determine the incidence, transmission rate and evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of OBEs among HCW. From June-2016 to May-2018, OBE among HCW were captured systematically in EPINet (Exposure prevention information network) Register through Self reporting system. Data on number of in-patient days was collected. Incidence rate, epidemiological characteristics and transmission rate were analyzed and evaluated. Sixty seven OBE incidents were reported by HCWs accounting to an incidence rate of 0.2/1000 in-patient days. Of these, 94% were Needle stick injuries and 6% were Blood and body fluid exposures. OBE incidents occurred mainly in wards, emergency department and operation theatre with a rate of 38.8%, 35.8% and 14.9% respectively. Exposures were encountered mainly by Interns (32.8%), staff-nurses (22.4%), Post-graduate students (14.9%) and Nursing students (14.9%). Recapping of the needle was the activity which led to OBE in 37.3% and improper disposal of sharps in 22.38 % of the incidents. In addition, 19.4% and 8.95% of the incidents were due to accidental and patient factors respectively. None of the followed-up HCWs at the end of 6 months were infected by these exposures.  The study brings out the epidemiological characteristics of OBE and throws a light on the target population among HCW who require more awareness and training to prevent OBE.</p>
		</abstract>
		<kwd-group>
        <title>Keywords</title>
        <kwd>Needle stick injury</kwd>
        <kwd>Safe injection practices</kwd>
		<kwd>Health care workers</kwd>
		<kwd>Occupational blood exposures</kwd>
			</kwd-group>
        </article-meta>
    </front>
    </article>
