Needle-Stick Injury Facts

  • Needle-Stick Injury Facts

    • Each year, nurses, physicians and other healthcare workers suffer an estimated 800,000 accidental needlestick injuries in U. S. hospitals.
    • More than 1,000 of them become infected with HIV/AIDS — just like the emergency room nurse in "Puncture" — hepatitis B and C and other deadly blood-borne diseases.
    • Worldwide, needle reuse and needle-stick injuries result in an estimated 1,300,000 deaths, 23 million hepatitis infections and 260,000 HIV/AIDS infections annually.
    • In November 2000, President Clinton signed the Needle-stick Safety and Prevention Act, which calls for the use of "safety-engineered" needle devices to protect workers. Unfortunately, a decade later, little has changed. The main reason: hospital group purchasing organizations (GPOs).

    For more information on needle safety in the US and needle reuse go to safeneedle.org