Occupationally Acquired HIV Infection Among U.S. HCWs Is Exceedingly Rare

Since the early years of the HIV epidemic, there has been concern that healthcare workers (HCWs) might become infected from a needle stick or splash while on the job. Now, researchers have analyzed cases of occupationally acquired HIV infection among HCWs that were reported to the CDC between 1985 and 2013. The cases were classified as “confirmed” (if there was documentation that seroconversion in the exposed HCW was temporally related to a specific exposure to a known HIV-positive source) or “possible” (if the infection occurred in an HCW who lacked a documented workplace exposure but whose job duties might have resulted in exposure).

During the study years, 58 confirmed and 150 possible cases of occupationally acquired HIV infection among …