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About Our Work: Preventing Medical Transmission of HIV (Last Updated: January 2005) |
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Medical transmission of HIV through procedures such as unsafe blood transfusions
or unsafe medical injections is preventable. Interventions to prevent medical
transmission of HIV are key components of a comprehensive national strategy
to prevent and control HIV/AIDS.
The U.S. Government (USG), through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Global AIDS Program (GAP), is working to address several major challenges
to maintaining adequate supplies of safe blood and safe injection practices
in many developing countries, including:
- insufficient numbers of low-risk volunteer blood donors;
- Inconsistent electricity and refrigeration;
- minimal funding for necessary equipment and supplies;
- limitations in healthcare systems.
To address these challenges, the USG assists host countries to establish well
functioning
blood supply systems that include low-risk blood donor selection,
blood banking, and blood safety training. The USG also provides additional support
to international blood safety organizations to help countries develop comprehensive
systems to prevent medical transmission of HIV.
In addition to infected blood and blood products, HIV-contaminated injection
equipment can also transmit HIV to patients and healthcare workers. Injections
are among the most frequently used medical procedures and unsafe injections
potentially stand to expose millions of people to infection each year. According
to the World Health Organization, the global burden of disease from unsafe injections
worldwide accounts for an estimated 5% of HIV infections.
In Kenya, with USG funding, GAP... helped establish a transfusion medicine
training fellowship for physicians from developing countries in collaboration with
Emory University in Atlanta.
In Uganda, with USG funding, GAP... provided blood donor recruitment education
and support through an agreement with the American Red Cross.
In India, with USG funding, GAP... helped to conduct an assessment of the
India Red Cross blood services and to develop program activities to improve the
operational process of blood donor screening and testing.
How does CDC promote injection safety?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with several
partners to promote injection safety and reduce the risk of medical transmission
of HIV. The CDC and the World Health Organization took lead roles in creating
the Safe Injection Global Network (SIGN), which developed injection safety
strategies. In addition, CDC partnered with the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) to develop an injection safety plan that includes training
personnel to improve medical safety and strengthening systems to reduce unsafe
injections.
Injection safety strategies CDC supports include:
- Encouraging countries without national safe injection policies to design
activities using SIGN principles;
- Assisting facilities to safe injection practices among healthcare workers
and community members;
- Assisting facilities to purchase safe injection equipment and supplies;
- Assisting facilities to safely manage the disposal of sharps.
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