Blood-borne viruses (BBV)

This website gives employees and employers detailed guidance on:

  • how to comply with the law
  • how to assess and ways to reduce the risks of workplace exposure to blood-borne viruses
  • how to manage incidences of exposure

Legal information

Laws applicable to employers regarding work with blood-borne viruses[26].

Controlling risk

Once a risk assessment has been completed, the methods chosen to adequately control the identified risks should, as far as possible, follow the hierarchical approach set out in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and COSHH.

Employer responsibilities

The legal responsibility for health and safety rests primarily with the employer, who must ensure that the organisation has the necessary management framework to protect the health and safety of staff as well as providing a safe working environment.

Employee responsibilities

You have a legal duty to take care of your own health and safety and that of others affected by your actions.

Incidents in the workplace

Provides advice to assist in the initial management of a potential workplace exposure to a blood-borne virus (BBV), irrespective of the circumstances/location of that exposure.

Link URLs in this page

  1. Biosafetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/index.htm
  2. Blood borne viruseshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/index.htm
  3. Overview - What are BBVs?https://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/what-are-bvv.htm
  4. HIV virushttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/hiv.htm
  5. Hepatitis B virushttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/hepatitis-b.htm
  6. Hepatitis C virushttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/hepatitis-c.htm
  7. Overview - How blood-borne viruses are spreadhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/spread.htm
  8. Workplace transmissionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/workplace-transmission.htm
  9. Risk to healthcare workershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/risk-healthcare-workers.htm
  10. Sources of BBVshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/sources.htm
  11. Legal informationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/legal-information.htm
  12. Risk assessmenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/risk-assessment.htm
  13. Controls applicable to exposed occupationshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/controls-applicable-exposed-occupations.htm
  14. Overview - Safe working practiceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/safe-working-practices.htm
  15. Health surveillance and occupational healthhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/health-surveillance-occupational.htm
  16. Avoiding sharps injurieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/avoiding-sharps-injuries.htm
  17. Personal protective equipmenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/personal-protective-equipment.htm
  18. The use of gloveshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/use-of-gloves.htm
  19. Immunisationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/immunisation.htm
  20. Disposal of wastehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/disposal-of-waste.htm
  21. Overview - Decontaminationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/decontamination.htm
  22. Methods of decontaminationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/methods-of-decontamination.htm
  23. Laundry treatments at high and low temperatureshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/laundry-treatments.htm
  24. How to deal with an exposure incidenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/how-deal-exposure-incident.htm
  25. Incident reportinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/incident-reporting.htm
  26. work with blood-borne viruseshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/blood-borne-viruses/legal-information.htm

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Updated 2024-02-15