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Seroprevalence of markers of viral hepatitis in Yemeni healthcare workers
Author(s) -
Shidrawi Ray,
Ali AlHuraibi Mohammed,
Ahmad AlHaimi Mohammed,
Dayton Ralph,
MurrayLyon Iain M.
Publication year - 2004
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.20126
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , hbsag , serostatus , medicine , virology , viral hepatitis , hepatitis b , transmission (telecommunications) , hepatitis c , cohort , serology , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis , immunology , viral load , antibody , virus , electrical engineering , engineering
The seroprevalence of viral hepatitis in healthcare workers has important public health implications. To assess the risk factors for the acquisition of viral hepatitis in an unvaccinated cohort from an hyperendemic region, 567 healthcare workers from a large hospital in the capital of the Republic of Yemen were interviewed and tested for serological markers of infection with viral hepatitis. 54/543 (9.9%) tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), 174/543 (32.0%) had positive hepatitis B core antibodies (anti‐HBc), and 19/546 (3.5%) had hepatitis C antibodies (anti‐HCV). Age (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06), male sex (OR = 2.0, 1.32–3.03), and occupation (healthcare workers not carrying out exposure prone procedures, OR = 1.61, 1.06–2.44) were found to be independent predictors for the likelihood of detecting either HBsAg or anti‐HBc by multivariate logistic regression analysis. No independent risk factors for anti‐HCV positive status were identified. Our findings support the adoption of universal HBV immunisation programmes and infection control precautions. The absence of known risk factors predicting anti‐HCV positive serostatus suggests the main mode of transmission of hepatitis C in this cohort in the Yemen remains undiscovered. J. Med. Virol. 73:562–565, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.