Abstract:ObjectiveTo investigate occupational exposure to blood among health care workers (HCWs) in Guangdong province, and provide scientific basis for developing preventive measures.MethodsA crosssectional survey on sharps injuries among HCWs at 39 hospitals in Guangdong province in June 2011 was conducted through questionnaires.ResultsA total of 32 617 questionnaires were distributed, and 32 297 (99.02%) were responded; and 32 007(99.10%) questionnaires were available for analysis. 1 460 HCWs had suffered 1 909 times of sharps injuries, and the incidence was 4.56% , the injury episode rate was 5.96%; the average number of injury per month was 0.06/person. 1 495 (4.67%,1 495/32 007) injury episodes were caused by contaminated sharps; contaminated sharps injuries accounted for 78.31%(1 495/1 909) of total sharps injuries, and 61.67%(922/1 495) of which could trace to the exposure sources, while 38.33%(573/1 495) couldn’t determine the infectivity. Among bloodcontaminated devices, 81.71%(67/82) were hepatitis B exposure, 14.63% (12/82) were syphilis exposure； 3.66%(3/82) were hepatitis C exposure, there was no HIV exposure. The locations where sharps injuries occurred mostly were general wards (47.72%) and operating rooms (20.27%); the procedures involved in high injury rates were dispensing(15.92%) , medical waste disposal (12.78%), and syringe needle removal(12.21%); the main medical devices that caused sharps injuries were disposable syringe needles(35.99%), scaple needles(19.43%) and suturing needles(13.41%). HCWs’ training rate of knowledge about bloodborne occupational exposure was 93.25%.ConclusionSharps injury is the main professional factor that cause bloodborne diseases. In order to reduce the risk of injuries caused by occupational exposures, medical institutions should establish corresponding organization and rules, and HCWs should standardize preventive and control behavior towards occupational exposures.