Personal protective equipment for protecting against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was discussed. The Joint Notice issued by the United States Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services on protecting against occupational exposure to hepatitis-B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was considered. The joint notice has stated that the known risk factors for HIV transmission are essentially the same as those for HBV. Workers are regarded as being at risk of HIV infection to the extent that they are exposed to blood and body fluids. Despite the similarities in transmission, the risk of HBV infection in those exposed to blood and body fluids, such as health care workers, far exceeds that for HIV infection. Workers exposed to blood, body fluids, or tissue can be protected from the identifiable risks of HBV and HIV infection by using engineering controls, work practices, and protective equipment that are readily available, commonly used, and only slightly invasive. Recommendations were provided for personal protective equipment for protecting against various levels of HBV and HIV exposure, ranging from tasks that involve no exposure to blood, body fluids, or tissues to tasks that involve such exposures as a condition of employment. It was noted that emergency medical response personnel have been advised to wear double sets of gloves, as well as protective eyewear or face shields and impervious coveralls where appropriate.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.