Do hospital personnel in hyperendemic areas require immunization against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection? Is vertical transmission of HBV infection common in this group?
Tsega, E.; Horton, J.; Nordenfelt, E.; Hansson, B.G.; Wolde-Hawariat, G.; Lindberg, J.
Ethiopian Medical Journal 27(3): 101-106
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-1755 PMID: 2526733 Document Number: 327213
Medical personnel working in contact with blood and blood-contaminated body fluids are often considered to be a high-risk group for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and, as a result, it is recommended that they should be vaccinated against this infection. To find out if this is necessary in a country hyperendemic for HBV infection and to see if parents transmit the infection to their offspring, a total of 336 volunteer hospital employees, and 103 children of 47 of them, were tested for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs, HBeAg and anti-HBe using the radioimmunoassay technique. Of these, 242 (72%) were found to have evidence of past or present HBV infection and only 94 (28%) had no such evidence. The infection prevalence in the 47 parents was 68% comparable to that of the total sample. Only 9 of their 103 children were positive for HBV markers. All tested parents of these positive children were either negative for all markers or positive for anti-HBs. The HBV infection prevalence among this hospital population is not different from that of the general Ethiopian [African] population, and vertical transmission appears unlikely in this group. Therefore, mass vaccination of hospital staff in hyperendemic areas is unnecessary.