What are the chances of being infected?

[deedeeo8]

Over the Thanksgiving holiday my niece pricked herself with a needle.  We are unsure if the needle belongs to my father or my uncle who has Hepatitis C.  If that needle belongs to my uncle than it must have been there for at least six months (the amount of time he has been out of the home)  How likely is it for her to have acquired  the disease?

[deedeeo8]

Thank you all for the information.

[deedeeo8]

They do have a container for the needles.  Our guess would be that either my uncle or my dad attempted to put the needle in the container but was unsuccesful and the needle fell behind a desk where it was found by the girls playing hide and seek.  We asked my dad about it but he says he always makes sure his needles go in the container.  That is why we believe it was my uncles who is in a wheelchair.

[nygirl7]

How do you know it wasn't your fathers and he isn't infected too? Could be lots of people infected with all these syringes laying around - maybe dad borrowed it from your uncle or something and got himself a good case of the hep too.

Get them all tested and then clean the house that's awful dangerous to think kids could grab a syringe like that.

[copyman]

I agree with james & diane. What is going on at that house. How can syringes be left around like that. Doesn't sound like a place I would want to bring my kids for a holiday.

[SusieS2010]

Thanks for the heads-up. I hadn't seen that study.

[Bill1954]

Susie, this study introduced at the 2010 CROI in San Francisco challenges the CDC data, and suggests that ‘Hepatitis C Virus Can Survive in Syringes Up to 2 Months under Favorable Conditions’:

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2010_conference/croi/docs/0223_2010_b.html

Deedee, the statistical odds of transmission via percutaneous needle stick accidents seems to be rather small; here is what the CDC has to say about the issue; of course, if you’re concerned, it’d be a good idea to get checked anyway:
“HCV is not transmitted efficiently through occupational exposures to blood. The average incidence of anti-HCV seroconversion after accidental percutaneous exposure from an HCV-positive source is 1.8% (range: 0%--7%) (73--76), with one study indicating that transmission occurred only from hollow-bore needles compared with other sharps (75).”

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5011a1.htm

--Bill

[Diane12855]

Agree with James10500... You mean to tell me that a used needle could have been sitting around the house for 6 months... and nobody did anything with it? I would be afraid to allow my children to be in a home like that period. There are many illnesses that could be caught there.

Diane

[James10500]

Sharps container ?

[SusieS2010]

There is nothing to worry about. The CDC states: The Hepatitis C virus can survive outside the body at room temperature, on environmental surfaces, for at least 16 hours but no longer than 4 days.

[GFRY]

if i were you i would not be worried but i will test her any way , 2 things you should know
1- hep c stays a life for only 36 hours out side living body
2- a person sticked  with an infected needle may pass with out infection the first time but this varies widely from person to person