possible transmission; fish hook poke

[WORRIERGRL365]

Okay, I work with some people who have some infectious diseases. Yesterday we took some to fish and on the way back in, I was poked with one of the fish hooks. My question is, if one of those people who have HIV OR HEPATITIS got stuck with that same hook and bled and I got stuck with the same hook and bled (which I did) minutes later. Is it possible that I can contract any other those two diseases?  Please help, I'm extremely worried. 

[mkh9]

p.s. since it isn't the kind of needle a healthcare worker uses that has a hollow center there is probably less blood on it and less of a chance of exposure. But still I would get the gammaglobulin shot as soon as possible and get tested for Hepatitis B and C and HIV to be sure. You will probably be alright. I know it is scary.
take care,
mkh9

[mkh9]

Firstly, I am not a doctor so you should consult your doctor and I am only giving advice. But I read that Hepatitus C is about <1% Hepatitis B if the person has Hepatitis B could be high up to around 20-30%. It depends on if the persons has the HbeAG or the envelope and the virus is present in the blood he/she has active infection. If they just have HbsAg that means only they have been exposed and may just have the antibodies.

You need to see your doctor this week. If you get a shot of Immuneglobulin or gamma globulin you can cut down your risk I think by 75% because it boosts your immunity. So you would have to get it within a week of exposure. Get that done first and get tested after. You may not have it but you need protection first if they have Hepatitis.  I have been exposed myself, as a health care worker, to HIV infected blood twice and never got it. I also have been stuck with several dirty needles but they didn't have hepatitis. So I can't say how that worked out. I do know the anxiety of it all.
take a deep breath and go get the testing done.
let me  know if I can help.
mkh9

[WORRIERGRL365]

I pushed out the blood and swabbed it with an alcohol wipe. When we cam back inside I washed my hands like 20 minutes later.  How likely is it that I contracted Hep?

[mkh9]

Well Hepatitis would be more likely than HIV. For HIV if a person has it and you get stuck with a dirty needle your changes are 1 in 1000 of getting it. With Hepatitis it is a little more. But, if the fish hook had time to dry HIV dies pretty fast in air or may have been washed off it it went into the water so you would less of a chance if that happened if any. The same with Hepatitis if the hook was pushed into a fish or put into the water or something it would less of a chance. There is more chance with Hepatitis than HIV here. Did you let your would bleed and then wash it after?  I would still get tested. With Hepatitis do they have type B or C. Were you not vaccinated for Hepatitis B? Hepatitis C now has a cure. It is expensive though. It came out this year that is about 95% effective even for your friends if they haven't had the treatment due to cirrhosis there is now a chance for them to be treated as well. It is less effective for those with cirrhosis but for those without it is very good chance of cure. You can get the details of that on the Hepatitis forum or I can look up that name of the new drugs for you. They know a lot more though about which drugs are actually being used. The cost is very high though like about $30,000 . I don't know how insurance is dealing with that. But at least there is a cure if you get it as opposed to the past when there was no cure for Hepatitis C. As for B there this new drug doesn't work on that but they may use it for that too. It hasn't been tried yet. Hep B isn't as bad as C. Anyway you should get tested now and again at a month then 3 months and  6 months for the hepatitis. There are faster DNA tests for HIV which are 4th generation PCR tests that are good to do now to get a baseline and at about 1 month. Or you can just not do the baseline.
mkh9
mkh9