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HCWs are at increased risk of acquiring infections by blood-borne pathogens in the health care setting. Information and awareness-raising, surveillance and educational programs are extremely important and are among the major components of the strategies to reduce this risk.
Methods
Riscobiologico.org is a web-based research group for the prevention of occupational infections among HCWs, founded in August of 2000 in Brazil. A Portuguese language mailing list and a Website were created to allow the discussion of the management and prevention of infectious occupational exposures. Web statistics have been collected monthly. In addition, a surveillance system (PSBio) of occupational exposures to blood-borne pathogens was developed.
Results
We present data collected between August 2000 and June 2011. As of June 2011, a total of 8,700 participants had joined the mailing list. More than 20,000 messages have been sent. The mailing list reached HCWs from all 27 Brazilian states within the first 5 months of its implementation. Participants from more than 700 different Brazilian cities subscribed to the list. In addition, participants from 11 other countries joined the list. During the last four years, the Website has received more than 280,000 visits/year. Between January 2005 and June 2011, 6,688 exposures to blood or bloody fluids have been reported by 22 Brazilian collaborating centers.
Discussion
The project expanded quickly, reaching HCWs from several different cities and all Brazilian states in a short period of time. Discussion lists are a well-known important tool to share knowledge among different professionals. Data collected in the surveillance system of occupational exposures to blood-borne pathogens will assist HCW, organizations, and public health agencies to assess the risk of occupational infection and to evaluate preventive measures. World Wide Web has been an efficient tool to disseminate health related information and represents an opportunity to monitor knowledge and practices and to help educational programs.