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Nurses at risk for occupationally acquired blood-borne virus infection at a South African academic hospital
Abstract
number of nurses being immunised against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a large academic hospital in which, 10 years previously,
only 30.6% of the nurses were immune to infection with the virus,
and to ascertain the incidence of infection with hepatitis C virus
(HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in these nurses.
Methods. We studied 170 predominantly black nurses.
Their blood was tested for the presence of active or past HBV
infection using appropriate immunoassays, HCV infection by
chromatographic immunoassays confirmed by polymerase chain
reaction assays, and HIV using a rapid test confirmed by enzymelinked
immunosorbent assays.
Results. Serum of 89 (52.4%) nurses was positive for hepatitis
B surface antibody (anti-HBs). Of these nurses 18 said that they
had not received the vaccine; the serum of 9 of these was positive
for anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) as well as anti-HBs,
indicating natural infection with the virus. Of the nurses positive
for anti-HBs, 89 were tested for anti-HBc; 28.2% tested positive for
anti-HBc. Three nurses gave dates of immunisation that fell outside
of their nursing careers; 3 (1.8%) were actively infected with the
virus; 2 (1.8%) were infected with HCV; 10 nurses (5.9%) were
positive for HIV.
Conclusion. Nurses at this academic hospital remain at high risk
of work-related HBV infection.
