Attachment H - Information Sheet for Body Fluid Exposure
Occupational Health & Infectious Disease
Risk Management, Portland, OR
You have had an exposure to someone’s blood or body fluid. We recommend that lab tests be done to document your current (baseline) serum antibody levels for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
Risks
The likelihood of disease transmission, although small, is real. If your “source” person is positive for HIV antibody, there is still only a 0.3% risk of transmission to you. If the “Source” is positive for Hepatitis B antigen, disease transmission may be as high as 40%, unless you are already immune to Hepatitis B. Disease transmission for Hepatitis C is approximately 2%-10%. Some factors i.e., the use of gloves, shallow penetration and size of the needle/sharp, and age of the needle may decrease the exposure magnitude.
Precautions-just in case
- Practice safer sex, use condoms
- Don’t share razors, tooth brushes or needles
- Don’t donate blood, semen or tissue until your antibody levels are negative 6 months after the exposure
Lab Results
- You will be notified of your lab test results within a week
- If the “source” person is tested, then you will be notified of their lab results as soon as possible. You must keep their lab results confidential
Follow-Up
- After baseline labs, we generally repeat labs at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months.
Warning Signs
- HIV Conversion Syndrome (2 weeks to 6 months incubation) symptoms may include fever, sore throat, muscle and joint pain, enlarged lymph nodes, and rash
- Hepatitis B (45-180 day incubation) insidious onset of symptoms may include loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, rash or jaundice (yellowing of the skin)
- Hepatitis C (2 weeks to 6 months incubation) insidious onset of symptoms may include loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin)