Sanaullah Khan

Viral Hepatitis: Threat to Health Care Workers Sanaullah Khan

The high prevalence of viral hepatitis in general population visiting the hospital, use of unsafe injection and contaminated equipment in health care related procedures appears to have played the predominant role in occupational transmission of hepatitis B and C. Randomly selected health care staff (doctors, nurses, technicians, assistant and general staff and administrative staff) working in different departments of the three tertiary care hospitals of Khyber Pakhtun khwa, Pakistan were analysed for viral hepatitis.. This study demonstrates that it is necessary to carry out recycling programs addressing issue of universal precautions and proper training of HCWs in the medical field for preventing HBV and HCV. It is advocated that a program for education about universal bio-safety measures, mandatory vaccination, especially the importance of the repeat doses must be implemented in all healthcare setups.