A Needlestick and Sharp Injuries (NSIs) is the penetration of the skin by a hypodermic needle or other sharp object that has been in contact with blood, tissue or other body fluids before the exposure (Thirunavukkarasu et al., 2021).
The main risk from a sharps injury is the potential exposure to infections such as blood-borne viruses (BBV). This can occur where the injury involves a sharp that is contaminated with blood or a bodily fluid from a patient. The blood-borne viruses of most concern are:
Hepatitis B (HBV) Hepatitis C (HCV) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Thirunavukkarasu et al., 2021).