Transmission of hepatitis C virus by occupational percutaneous injuries in South Korea

Korea is an endemic area of hepatitis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections caused by occupational percutaneous injuries are a serious problem for healthcare workers and there has been a gradual increase in the number of HCV infections. We therefore determined the transmission rate of HCV after occupational percutaneous injury. This was a retrospective cohort study reviewing all occupational blood exposure reports made between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2008, at a university-affiliated acute care hospital. Over the 5-year study period, there were 1,516 accidents of occupational exposure to blood; of these, 327 (21.6%) were to the blood of HCV-infected patients and 3 (0.9%) healthcare workers became infected with HCV (95% CI 0.6–8.8). In Korea, although the bloodborne accidents leading to exposure to HCV occurred frequently (21.6%), the transmission rate was very low (0.92%).