Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Resident Physicians and Nurses in Tertiary Hospitals in Sana’a City, Yemen

Volume 5 - Issue 5

Abdul Salam Mohamed Al Makdad², Abdulrahman Y Al-Haifi¹, Hassan A Al-Shamahy³, Mohammed Kassim Salah² and Ammar Hashim Abdullah Obaid³

Received: August 28, 2020   Published: September 09, 2020

DOI: 10.32474/SCSOAJ.2020.05.000221

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Abstract

Health care workers (HCWs) represent one of the largest groups at risk for contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV) worldwide. This is due to the accidental occupational exposure to potentially infectious blood and other body fluids in the workplace. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the rate of exposure to HBV infection and to identify potential occupational and nonoccupational risk factors among doctors and nurses residing in tertiary hospitals in Sana’a city. This study included 169 physicians and nurses of whom 121 were physicians and 48 were nurses. Blood samples were collected from each one, then tested for serological markers of HBV infections. Also, data was collected in a pre-designed questionnaire including; demographic data, the potential occupational and non-occupational risk factors that contribute to HBV transmission. The results of the study showed that seropositive to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among physicians and nurses was 5.3%, while the rate of exposure to hepatitis B virus infection (HBcAb) was 17.8%. The rate of exposure to HBV infection (anti-HBC + HBsAg) was higher in females (33.3%) than in males (21.4%).
The older age group was more susceptible to hepatitis B virus infection than the younger age group (P <0.05).Only 11 participants (6.5%) said they attended training courses in biosafety. Just over 45.6% indicated that they had needle injuries and 40% of sharp tool injuries while working; 61 (26%) indicated they always followed bio-safety precautions, and 74 (43.8%) said they always wore gloves while their work. Only 32 (18.9%) of the participants received a full hepatitis B vaccination doses. Also, there was a statistically significant relationship between cut injuries and HBV infections (P = 0.02). In addition, the highest incidence of hepatitis B virus infection was 31.3% among nurses, while physicians had 19.8%. In conclusion, there was a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus among doctors and nurses. Unfortunately, most workers have not received training in biosafety, and fewer than half of the workers consistently use preventive measures such as wearing gloves during their work or taking vaccination. There is a need to make health care workers vaccination against hepatitis B infection a consistent policy and to ensure full and consistent compliance with standard safety procedures.

Keywords: HBV, resident, physicians, nurses, Yemen

Abstract| Introduction| Subjects and Methods| Statistical Analysis| Results| Discussion| Conclusion| Author’s Contribution| Acknowledgments| Conflict of Interest| References|