Under the auspices of the Network for the Alert, Investigation, and Surveillance of Nosocomial Infections (Raisin) and in collaboration with the Study Group on Healthcare Workers’ Risk of Exposure to Infectious Agents (Geres), methods for monitoring blood-exposure incidents (BEIs) have been the subject of a consensus and a national network since 2002. Each facility voluntarily, anonymously, and in a standardized manner documented all BSE incidents involving a staff member (including students and interns) reported to the occupational physician from January 1 to December 31, 2006. Data were collected on a form adapted from Geres documenting the circumstances of the BSE (nature, mechanism, equipment involved), its management (immediate care, follow-up, and any prophylaxis), and the infectious status of the source patient. The incidence of blood exposure incidents was reported relative to the number of hospital beds, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, and the consumption of certain medical devices. In 2006, 14,876 blood exposure incidents were recorded in 518 facilities. The network’s national coverage can be estimated at 18% of healthcare facilities and 42% of beds, representing a significant increase compared to 2005 (13% and 34.3%, respectively). The incidence of blood exposure incidents (BEIs) per 100 hospital beds is 8.0. Based on the 444,000 hospital beds recorded in France (SAE 2005 data), this allows us to estimate at 35,418 (95% CI: 35,064–35,771) the number of AEs that were likely reported in 2006 to occupational physicians at French healthcare facilities. The source patient’s status regarding HCV and HIV—which determines the subsequent management of the healthcare worker—remains unknown in more than 20% of cases. The rate of prescribing antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis remained stable at 4.4% in 2006 and was discontinued in 32.1% of cases, most often due to the subsequent discovery that the source patient was HIV-negative. The median time to care for a healthcare worker following a NSA was one hour, demonstrating the highly operational nature of this system in France. Since 2004, suture needles have ranked first among needle-related NSPs, ahead of subcutaneous needles. These NSPs account for 10% of all accidents occurring in the fields of surgery, obstetrics, as well as intensive care and emergency medicine. It therefore remains necessary to improve the safety of this procedure and to promote the use of blunt-tip needles. A comparison of the 173 facilities that participated in the surveillance in 2004, 2005, and 2006 already reveals some significant progress. Compliance with glove use among victims and the proximity of the sharps container increased from 60.6% to 66.1% and from 65.2% to 68.6%, respectively, between 2004 and 2006. The incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) per 100 beds in these facilities decreased slightly, from 7.9 in 2004 to 7.2 in 2006. A significant decrease in the incidence of AES per 100 FTE nursing assistants was also recorded (1.8 in 2006 compared to 2.1 in 2004). Although it has improved slightly, the rate of secured equipment remains low in our cohort, at 35.7% for short catheters and 25.6% for implantable port needles. The pooling of 2006 HAE surveillance data confirms the strong establishment of this network in France and demonstrates the involvement of occupational physicians in preventing this risk. The Raisin data objectively confirm the continued improvement in adherence to standard precautions, with a significant decrease in AES for the first time this year. The continued implementation of safety devices should lead to a reduction in risk in the coming years, and the national surveillance system is capable of objectively verifying this. (R.A.)