There have been 49 documented cases of U.S. health care workers contracting HIV from patients after being stuck by infected needles or similar sharp medical devices, although the actual number is likely much higher because there have been no needle stick reporting requirements. Hundreds of health care workers also contract hepatitis C every year. Her hand was pierced by a contaminated needle when a dialysis patient grabbed her arm while she was taking blood from him. Ellen Dayton, a California nurse, became infected on the job in 1996. She was reaching to grab several blood-collection tubes that were rolling off a counter top when her finger was pricked by a contaminated butterfly syringe.
Safer devices exist, including retractable needles, self-blunting needles and protective shields.
Plastic capillary tubes used for measuring red blood cell counts can replace glass tubes. Intravenous catheters can be equipped with plastic shields that lock and cover the needle after it has been removed from a patient. Intravenous tubing that uses no needles has been developed and has been shown to reduce needle sticks. Such devices can be more expensive, but their cost can be offset by the number of needle sticks prevented, the petition states. Treatment costs increase dramatically if workers become sick.