De Luca M, Ascione A, Canestrini C, Di Costanzo G G, Galeota Lanza A, Guardascione M A, Gallo M L, Parisio Perrotti G, Samaritani C M, Utech W
Servizio di Fisiopatologia Epatica, Ospedale Cardarelli, Napoli.
Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 1991 Jul-Sep;37(3):141-9.
Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) has been widely investigated in many categories; however no data are available on hospital personnel. The aim of our study was to investigate whether hospital personnel are at risk for HCV infection.
sera collected during a prospective study on HBV infection in hospital workers done in our institution in 1985 were analyzed for the ELISA test for anti-HCV from Ortho Diagnostic System. Sera were stored at -20 degrees C and were never defrosted until tested. A population of a consecutive series of healthy volunteer blood donors was used as a control group.
the anti-HCV prevalence was higher in hospital personnel, than in blood donors (4.5 versus 1.1, p less than 0.001, Odds Ratio 4.5, Confidence Limits 2.9-7.2).
although anti-HCV is not an "ideal" test for epidemiological purposes, our study suggests that hospital personnel is at high risk for HCV infection.
