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P303: Safety of intravenous samples and risk management of infectious waste: the case of Mali

Introduction

We conducted a one-day survey in a teaching hospital, two district centers, a community health center and military dispensary in Bamako in February 2012, as part of a multicenter GERES study.

Objectives

We aimed to determine the materials used in intravenous (IV) blood collection to clarify the availability of safety equipment and describe the measure to eliminate infectious waste.

Methods

Safety equipment for collection of IV blood samples were available in any center. The blood was drawn by syringes + needles and the equipment for collect blood was chosen by different people on the center. Funding was provided by the health department or the patient.

Results

A policy for waste management existed in every site but only 3 sites out of 5 had a written procedure, generally not distributed in all services. Containers for waste recovery were not specific (collector card, plastic security bin bag and a recycled bottle of bleach). Cardboard boxes were available for free. Two centers conducted soaking in bleach before handling. Four centers of five or had a dedicated staff trained in waste disposal. The cremation was carried out in three sites out of 5. Other centers sent their waste to the health service district of Bamako.

Conclusion

Unavailability of safety equipment contributes to the exposure of personnel to blood exposure. We must strengthen the technical platform and the system improves sorting and waste management.

Disclosure of interest

None declared

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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Traoré, A., Fomba, M., Cissé, T. et al. P303: Safety of intravenous samples and risk management of infectious waste: the case of Mali. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 2 (Suppl 1), P303 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-2994-2-S1-P303

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-2994-2-S1-P303

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