GP208 The public health response to a blood exposure incident in a local secondary school

The Public Health Department (PHD) was contacted by a local secondary school of an incident regarding a shared needle exposure the previous week. A group of students had undertaken a project to investigate the effects of exercise on blood glucose levels, as part of a national school science competition. The students undertook the experiments during three consecutive lunch breaks. A student with diabetes carried out the testing and used the same lancing devices on all children, with no hygiene or infection control considerations. On the final day a teacher became aware of the incidents. After several days, Public Health were contacted by the school for advice. Public Health urgently visited the school in question to discern further details. After an initial risk assessment, an incident management team (IMT) was convened within the PHD to best manage the acute response to the incident, and to take actions as required. Our incident entailed all children being both potentially recipient and donor of a blood borne infection. No national or international guidelines consulted offered advice for this scenario. The clinical team returned to the school the following day to meet the parents of the children involved, to assess further the child’s risk of being a donor of a bloodborne virus, and to explain that their child might be both a source and a recipient of a blood borne virus. Nationally produced information sheets were tailored by the IMT for this setting, to give to all students and parents. All children consented to have their Hepatitis B, C and HIV serology tested and were offered early vaccination against Hepatitis B by the IMT in school. The outcome for all children was uneventful. The IMT identified deficits in the school’s knowledge and management of biohazards, and had concerns this could occur in another school. The IMT created a poster to inform schools and child care facilities about biohazards and their appropriate management. The IMT contacted the Department of Education to discuss further. Our poster (or a link to it) was circulated to all schools nationally within Ireland, with accompanying text regarding the need for biohazard management awareness. The IMT has also separately contacted the Department of Education and the National Science competitions to explain the risks associated with this kind of science project and that clear prohibition of blood related research projects should apply for any national science competition.