Hepatitis B virus infection among staff in three hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan, 2006-07

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to determine the seropositivity of hepatitis B infection, associated risk factors and history of vaccination among staff in 3 teaching hospitals in Khartoum. The study was carried out from March 2006 to March 2007. Participants comprised 245 randomly selected hospital staff; 12 [4.9%] reacted positively for HBsAg, 6 of whom were nurses, 4 domestic staff and 2 laboratory staff. Only 37 participants [15.1%] said that they had attended training courses in biosafety. Just over 50% indicated that they had had needle-stick or sharp injuries during work; 61 [24.9%] indicated that they always followed the bio-safety precautions, 52 [21.4%] said that they always wore gloves during their work while 43 [17.6%] said they never wore them. Only 11 [4.5%] of the participants had received the full vaccination dose for hepatitis B