Why the study?
Are paediatric and nursery nurses at an increased risk of infection with the hepatitis A virus compared to surgical nurses?
Are paediatric and nursery nurses at an increased risk of infection with the hepatitis A virus compared to surgical nurses?
Paediatric and nursery nurses do not have a significantly higher risk of HAV infection compared to surgical nurses, suggesting routine immunization against HAV is not required for these occupational groups.
No increased HAV seroprevalence in paediatric or nursery nurses; leaves open whether targeted vaccination is warranted pending prospective data.
A cross-sectional epidemiological survey of immunity to the hepatitis A virus (HAV) was undertaken in paediatric and nursery nurses to ascertain whether these occupational groups were at an increased risk of infection with the virus. Seropositivity to HAV was measured in 33 surgical (control), 36 paediatric, 55 nursery and 29 specialist paediatric nurses in a district general hospital, community clinics and a children's hospital in the West Midlands. IgG antibodies to HAV were found in 27% of surgical (control), 31% of paediatric (relative risk [RR] = 1.19, 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 0.56-2.51), 26% of nursery nurses (RR = 0.99, Cl = 0.48-2.04) and 10% of specialist paediatric nurses (RR = 0.40, Cl = 0.12-1.35). These data are comparable to immunity to HAV for this age group in the general population of this country and do not support routine immunization of paediatric or nursery nurses against HAV.
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Poole et al. (1996) studied this question.
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