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Prevalence of GBV‐C infection among dental personnel
Author(s) -
Roy Kirsty M.,
Bagg Jeremy,
Kennedy Catherine,
Cameron Sheila,
Simmonds Peter,
Lycett Carol,
Hunter Iain,
Taylor Margie
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.10365
Subject(s) - virology , medicine
Healthcare workers who carry out exposure‐prone procedures are theoretically at increased risk of acquiring blood‐borne virus infections. GB virus C (GBV‐C) is a recently described blood‐borne virus that is related distantly to hepatitis C virus. The occupational risk of GBV‐C infection to healthcare workers is unknown. This study collected detailed occupational and personal risk data in parallel with a blood specimen, to establish the prevalence and determinants of GBV‐C infection among dental healthcare workers. The presence of GBV‐C antibodies was detected using commercially available ELISA; GBV‐C RNA was detected by nested PCR using primers from the conserved 5′ noncoding region. The overall prevalence of GBV‐C antibodies among the study population was 11.1% (98/880, 95% confidence interval [CI], 9.1–13.4%) and 4.6% were positive for GBV‐C RNA (46/879, 95% CI, 2.5–5.1%), resulting in a cumulative prevalence of 15.7%. These figures are similar to those described in other populations. There was no significant difference in lifetime exposure to GBV‐C between dentists (17.7%) and dental nurses/hygienists (14.3%). Significantly more dental nurses/hygienists aged 16–30 years had been exposed to GBV‐C compared to dentists of the same age (χ 2 = 13.75; P < 0.001). Conversely, significantly more dentists 46 years or older had evidence of exposure to GBV‐C compared to dental nurses/hygienists (χ 2 = 6.79; P = 0.009). The high prevalence of GBV‐C infection did not seem to be related to past parenteral exposure, and the data suggest that sexual transmission, rather than occupational transmission, was a more important route for GBV‐C infection among this population. J. Med. Virol. 70:150–155, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.