Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Case Report

Laboratory-acquired dengue virus infection by needlestick injury: a case report, South Korea, 2014: Changhwan Lee, Eun Jung Jang, Donghyok Kwon, Heun Choi, Jung Wan Park, Geun-Ryang Bae; Ann Occup Environ Med 2016;28:16. Published online April 7, 2016; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-016-0104-5

Background

Dengue fever is one of the most dominant vector-borne diseases, putting approximately 3.9 billion people at risk worldwide. While it is generally vector-borne, other routes of transmission such as needlestick injury are possible. Laboratory workers can be exposed to dengue virus transcutaneously by needlestick injury. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of dengue virus infection by needlestick injury in a laboratory environment. This paper evaluates the risk and related health concerns of laboratory workers exposed to dengue virus.

Case presentation

We evaluated a 30-year-old female laboratory worker exposed to the dengue virus by needlestick injury while conducting virus filtering. During admission, she showed symptoms of fever, nausea, myalgia, and a characteristic maculopapular rash with elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 235 IU/L and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of 269 IU/L. She had been diagnosed by a positive nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen (Ag) rapid test one day prior to symptom onset along with positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on the ninth day of symptom onset. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), also conducted on the ninth day, was negative. After proper symptomatic treatment, she recovered without any sequelae. As a result of thorough epidemiologic investigation, it was determined that she had tried to recap the needle during the virus filtering procedure and a subsequent needlestick injury occurred.

Conclusions

In the context of health promotion of laboratory workers, we suggest that the laboratory biosafety manual be revised and reinforced, and related prevention measures be implemented. Furthermore, health authorities and health care providers in Korea should be fully informed of proper dengue fever management.

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Original Article

Epidemiological Characteristics and Scale for Needlestick Injury in Some University Hospital Workers: Yong Hun Yun, Yun Kyung Chung, Jae Sim Jeong, Ihn Sook Jeong, Eun Suk Park, Sung Won Yoon, Hye Young Jin, Jin Hee Park, Si Hyun Han, Jeong Hwa Choi, Hye Ran Choi, Min Kyung Han, Soon Im Choi; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2011;23(4):371-378. Published online December 31, 2011; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2011.23.4.371

Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
Based on multicenter research among tertiary hospitals in Korea, it was our intention to effectively contribute to the prevention of needlestick injuries by understanding the current state of the incidence rate of needlestick injuries and the related epidemiology with respect to medical institution and worker's characteristics.
METHODS
Ten hospitals were selected, with the research performed from July to September 2007. Data on cases of needlestick injuries were collected by hospital infection-controlling centers using a specifically developed website and a partially modified self-writing questionnaire based on the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet).
RESULTS
During the study period, a total of 327 needlestick injury cases were reported, with an incidence of 10.56 cases per 100 patient beds per year. The existence of source of infection could not be confirmed in one third of the needlestick injuries. There were 4.07 incidences per 100 employees per year. The job with the highest incidence was medical doctor interns (18.66 cases), followed by clinical laboratory workers (7.12 cases) and registered nurses (6.66 cases).
CONCLUSIONS
There was no difference in number of incidences according to the number of beds. The highest number of cases occurred in the registered nurse-group, but the incidence rate per healthcare worker was the highest in the medical doctor intern-group. Therefore, it is important to conduct research to identify the risk of the incidence with respect to different risk-groups. As a result of this research, it is suggest that a protective policy is required relating to needlestick injuries, regardless of the number of beds and potential cause of infection.

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