Prevalence of Antibodies against Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Health Care Workers in Stockholm

J. Struve Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute. Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge; Dept. of Bacteriology and Virology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Stockholm; Dept. of Occupational Health Services, Western District, Sabbatsbergs Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

B. Aronsson Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute. Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge; Dept. of Bacteriology and Virology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Stockholm; Dept. of Occupational Health Services, Western District, Sabbatsbergs Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

B. Frenning Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute. Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge; Dept. of Bacteriology and Virology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Stockholm; Dept. of Occupational Health Services, Western District, Sabbatsbergs Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

M. Forsgren Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute. Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge; Dept. of Bacteriology and Virology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Stockholm; Dept. of Occupational Health Services, Western District, Sabbatsbergs Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

O. Weiland Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute. Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge; Dept. of Bacteriology and Virology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Stockholm; Dept. of Occupational Health Services, Western District, Sabbatsbergs Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Struve J, Aronsson B, Frenning B, Forsgren M, Weiland O. Prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus infection among health care workers in Stockholm. Scand J Gastroenterol 1994;29:360-362.

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) markers was investigated among health care staff with a high rate of exposure to blood or needle-stick injuries. After screening sera in pools of 10 at a time and individual tesing of all reactive pools, totally 6 of 880 (0.7%; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-14.8%) were positive for anti-HCV, a figure of the same order as that found among Swedish first-time blood donors. Among the seropositives, all of five evaluable had been exposed to blood and four of five to needle-stick injuries. Our data suggest that HCV. in addition to hepatitis B virus, may constitute an occupational hazard for health care workers in Stockholm, even though the risk appears to be low, and personal risk factors such as intravenous drug abuse or blood transfusion could not be ruled out as sources of the infection.

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Prevalence of Antibodies against Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Health Care Workers in Stockholm

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