Surveillance of occupational infections among healthcare workers in France was established, using both retrospective and prospective methods, in 1991 for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and in 1997 for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The importance of this surveillance has been emphasized on several occasions through official circulars. The objectives are to describe trends and characteristics of HIV and HCV infections among healthcare workers, in order to contribute to the identification and prevention of blood-exposure incidents (BEIs) with a high risk of viral transmission. (R.A.)