Safety practice is an important element of workplace safety and quality of health care. To investigate the safety practice and professional exposure to blood and blood-containing materials during a one-year period among Health Care Workers (HCWs) in Serbia. Cross-sectional study of 1559 Serbian HCWs using a self-administered questionnaire. Mantel-Haenszel statistics and multiple logistic regres...

To the Editor: Despite safety recommendations, the increased availability of personal protective equipment, and the implementation of improved disposal systems, high-risk needlestick injuries continue to occur in unacceptably high numbers in healthcare settings.1 Design features of needle devices are relevant to their high injury risk. For example, butterflytype devices with needle-shielding fe...

Syphilis is still a public health problem in the world. The World Health Organization estimated that approximately 12 million new cases are reported each year in the world with more than 90 percent from developing countries (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2007; World Health Organization [WHO], 2001). Moreover, syphilis has acquired a higher potential of morbidity and mortality with the incr...

In this issue of the Journal, Popgeorgiev et al report investigations stemming from deep sequencing to find DNA viruses too large to pass through ultrafilters typically used in virus hunting [1]. Their findings suggest the presence of a previously unknown virus in blood samples from asymptomatic French blood donors. They call the approximately 357-kb virus “giant blood Marseillevirus” (GBM) bec...

This series of essays was developed as part of FASEB's efforts to educate the general public and the legislators whom it elects about the benefits of fundamental biomedical research--particularly how investment in such research leads to scientific progress, improved health, and economic well-being. "Blood safety in the age of AIDS" examines the effects of the AIDS epidemic on the safety of the ...

1Canadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 4J5 2Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, NSW, Australia 3Canadian Blood Services, 8249-114 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2R8 4Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, 8249-114 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2R8 5Canadian Blood Services, Hamilton, ON, Canada 6Department of Patho...

Performance and accuracy of blood glucose (BG) monitoring devices are currently being scrutinized by regulatory agencies and professional societies.1,2 For medical devices to receive regulatory clearance and be adopted by the public, they must be both effective and safe. Although the accuracy of BG monitoring technology, which is a reflection of its effectiveness, has received much attention re...

Improvements in donor screening and testing and viral inactivation of plasma derivatives together have resulted in substantial declines in transfusion-transmitted infections over the last two decades. Most recently, nucleic acid testing techniques have been developed to screen blood and plasma donations for evidence of very recent viral infections that could be missed by conventional serologic ...