Manitoba labour groups want mandatory devices to end needlestick injuries.WINNIPEG -- Manitoba Labour unions want the provincial governruent to require the mandatory use of safety-engineered needles and medical sharps devices. They argue that this would, almost eliminate the 3,500 needlestick injuries that healthcare workers in Manitoba experience every year. Health workers risk contracting 33 bloodborne pathogen diseases like HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome , Hepatitis B Hepatitis B Definition Hepatitis B is a potentially serious form of liver inflammation due to infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It occurs in both rapidly developing (acute) and long-lasting (chronic) forms, and is one of the most common chronic and Hepatitis C Hepatitis C Definition Hepatitis C is a form of liver inflammation that causes primarily a long-lasting (chronic) disease. Acute (newly developed) hepatitis C is rarely observed as the early disease is generally quite mild. . According to the unions, workers stuck by needles suffer emotional stress and anguish as they undergo extensive testing for six months to one year to determine if they have contracted a potentially deadly illness. The Centres for Disease Control, Health Canada and the International Health-Care Worker Health and Safety Centre at the University of Virginia have demonstrated that using safety-engineered devices can prevent up to 90 per cent of needlestick injuries, while providing a net savings across the health-care system. The campaign to prevent needlestick injuries is led by the Service Employees International Union Canada, Manitoba Federation of Labour The Manitoba Federation of Labour is the Manitoba provincial trade union federation of the Canadian Labour Congress. It was formed in 1956 and has a membership of 90,000. External links
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