HIV infection risk high with doctors

At least half of South Africa's junior doctors have been exposed to HIV-positive blood through needle stick injuries, a new study has found. The report by the Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Health Sciences cited exhaustion and inexperience as likely reasons for the injuries when doctors pricked themselves while drawing blood or disposing of needles. "When in an extremely strenuous situation, an inexperienced doctor is less aware of normal safety precautions," the local Cape Argus quoted Dr Ben Marais, a paediatrician in the health sciences faculty, as saying. An estimated 55 percent HIV exposure rate has left doctors angry at a system that puts them in difficult work circumstances for very long hours. "This figure is comparable to the highest occupational HIV exposure ever recorded," Marais added.