Transmission of HIV-1 from an obstetrician to a patient during a caesarean section.

ABSTRACT

We describe a probable case of HIV-1 transmission from a healthcare worker (HCW) to a patient during a caesarean section. Genetic distance comparisons of the viral sequence of the C2V4 region of the viruses from the patient and the obstetrician showed an average nucleotide sequence divergence of 3% (2.8-3.1). HIV can be transmitted from an infected HCW to a patient when percutaneous injuries with subsequent exposure of the patient to the blood of the HCW can occur.