If you have suffered a sharps or needle stick injury or splashed from a mucosal surface, we would advise the following procedure:

1. wash the area well with soap and water or flush your eye with copious volumes of saline or water;
2. identify the source patient if possible;
3. if you consider that a specific infectious disease could have been transmitted by the incident, ask the source patient to discuss testing for that disease with a medical practitioner;
4. document the incident;
5. immediately contact your medical practitioner or attend the accident and emergency clinic at your nearest hospital without delay.

Your medical practitioner should be advised to seek specialist advice from the On-call Infectious Diseases Physician at either the Alfred Hospital on 03 9276 2000 or the Royal Melbourne Hospital on 03 9342 7000, for specific advice regarding which treatment options may or may not be most appropriate for you.