immune status for hepatitis b and risk for occupational exposure virus among italian nurses

Background: healthcare workers (hcws) are considered at higher risk for hepatitis b virus infection compared to the general population, due to their potential contact with blood or body fluids and possible needle stick injuries. in turn, infected hcws may be a risk for patients. hepatitis b vaccination programs represent a strategic approach to control the infection. objectives: in this study, weaimed to evaluate the serological status of hcws employed at the teaching hospital of rometor vergata and their risk of occupational injuries after the adoption of directive 2010/32/eu. methods: medical records of 539 hcws were evaluated during their occupational medical examination at the tor vergata teaching hospital (ptv). all subjects were screened for specific viral markers: hepatitis b surface antibodies (anti-hbs igg), antibodies to hepatitis core antigen (anti-hbc igg), and hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag). data regarding needlestick injuries were collected by the prevention service team during the same year. results: in this sample population, wefound five subjects (0.9%) positive to the hbsag, and most of them (four) were born in foreign countries. moreover, seven subjects (1.3% of our population) were hbsag-positive and anti-hbc-positive. a protective anti-hbs titer was found in 462 out of 527 (85.7%) subjects. the risk of being serologically unprotected was higher in males and subjects aged 40 years or older. the nurses weremoreprotected than other healthcare professionals considering the anti-hepatitisbsurface antibody titer. in 2018, 16 needlestick injuries were reported among our population of hcws, with a global risk of 2.9% per year. conclusions: although hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection rate amonghcws was similar to that of the general population, the risk of hbv transmission in hcws was likely to be high due to suboptimal vaccination coverage.