What if the health-care worker is the one infected with HIV or HBV?
1. The recent limited number of reports of HBV transmission from HCWs to patients may reflect the adoption of universal precautions and increased use of HBV vaccine. 2. Since nurses rarely perform the types of exposure-prone procedures described by the CDC, a nurse would not likely be associated with transmission of HIV to a patient, and HBV transmission most likely would not occur. 3. Agencies employing HCWs who perform exposure-prone procedures should establish expert review panels.