4.1. Blood and Blood Products

All employees are entitled to:

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  • Basic introduction and training in exposure risks, sterile technology and work with blood products before work can be performed by the individual.
  • Vaccination against hepatitis B and A. The occupational health service offers vaccination service.

See here for contact information, information on vaccination and other services offered by UiB.

 

Risk of infection by contact with body fluids


The risk of transmission of infection is associated with the degree of contact with blood or other body fluids. There is no risk of infection by contact with blood on undamaged skin. Needle stick injuries are considered to be the most common form of transmission.

The risk of transmitting infections by contaminated needle is:
◾Hepatitis B 10-30%
◾Hepatitis C 3-5%
◾HIV approx. 0.3%. In the Nordic countries, HIV infection has never been detected in case of sting lesions.

In Norway, the incidence of Hepatitis B and C is highest among injecting drug users. The incidence of HIV positive is greatest among people from Africa and Southeast Asia. There has been an increase in infection among homosexuals in recent years, while for injecting abusers there is hardly any change. Therefore, the chance that a patient is infected with Hepatitis B, C or HIV will be low if he / she does not belong to one of these risk groups.

See here for more information from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. (Norwegian only).