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To the Editor: Dr Sulkowski and colleagues¹ present a case of occupational hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a medical intern following a needlestick from an intravenous (IV) catheter stylet. In reviewing the occupational risk of HCV infection, they state that "HCV transmission following a single needlestick accident occurs approximately 10 times more often than HIV [human immunodeficiency virus] transmission." This estimate appears to derive from studies reported in their Table, which reported a total of 333 HCV-exposed health care workers (HCWs), 14 of whom became infected, for an overall transmission rate of 4.2%.

Integrating these studies published from 1992 through 1994 with several more recent reports shows that more than 11 000 HCV-exposed HCWs have been collectively followed up in 6 countries, with increasingly consistent results (Table 1). The simple average transmission rate for all reports is 0.5%, a rate similar to that for occupational HIV transmission, and . . . [Full Text of this Article]