Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents|
| Standard Number:||1910.1030; 1910.1030(d)(2)(xi)|
|This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation only of the requirements discussed and may not be applicable to any situation not delineated within the original correspondence.|
Since medical history and examination cannot reliably identify all patients infected with HIV or other bloodborne pathogens, blood and body-fluid precautions should be consistently used for all patients. This approach, previously recommended by CDC and referred to as "universal blood and body-fluid precautions" or "universal precautions" should be used in the care of all patients, especially including those in emergency-care settings in which the risk of blood exposure is increased and the infection status of the patient is usually unknown.Applying this concept, the bloodborne pathogen standard applies to all occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). The standard defines "Universal Precautions" as "...an approach to infection control. According to the concept of Universal Precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens."
|Standard Interpretations - Table of Contents|