KARACHI, April 12: Regardless of who gets infected and who does not, an overwhelming number of workers in the clinical laboratories of the city do not adhere to universally recognized safety guidelines.

As a consequence, not only are the workers instrumental in infecting the patients but also themselves, according to a scientific study published in a recent issue of the international journal called Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

So bad is the situation that the prevalence of hepatitis B and C are high among the health-care workers. At one medical centre as many as 20 out of every 100 workers have been infected.

The study, based on a survey of 44 laboratories, reveals that in most laboratories of Karachi gloves, protective gowns and disinfectants are not used regularly. Also, a majority of the laboratories don’t have incinerators which are deemed mandatory by the experts.

Under the study, 44 laboratories were inspected and the working conditions observed. The survey showed that gloves were used in only four-and-a-half per cent of the laboratories.

Protective gowns were used in only 27 per cent and disinfectants in only 16 per cent of the laboratories. And only 16 per cent had incinerators.

The study — jointly authored by Dr S. Abdul Mujeeb, Malik M. Adil, Arshad Altaf, Dr Sharaf Ali Shah and Dr Stephen Luby — says economic factors are not the only reason for the lack of adherence to the safety guidelines.

“Part of the barrier to infection control is financial. However, the barriers may not be entirely economic. For example, needle cutters were being used in only eight of the 28 sites in which they were available.”

Thus, education of workers and laboratory managers on the risks of unsafe practices and interventions to promote safer behaviour is needed, says the study.

“This study suggests that standard worker safety precautions were not being followed in the major clinical laboratories in Karachi,” concludes the study.