Hepatitis B vaccine requirements in at-risk hospital personnel: a survey of hospitals in Metropolitan Toronto.

Approximately 50 000 individuals are employed in various hospital-based occupations in Metropolitan Toronto. To determine the proportion of this population that might be considered as first-priority recipients of the new hepatitis B vaccine, a questionnaire was sent to the executive directors of 45 hospitals in this region. The questionnaire requested data on the numbers of full- and part-time employees whose frequency of contact with blood and blood-related equipment was the greatest. The response rate was 89%. Of the 9545 individuals identified as being at risk of exposure to hepatitis B, 5443 (57%) were nonphysicians and 4102 (43%) were physicians. A highly significant (p less than 0.001) positive and linear relation was found between the numbers of personnel at highest risk of exposure and the total number of hospital personnel and type of hospital. Therefore, the potential exists for developing and validating a simple bivariate model that could predict the initial vaccine requirements for hospital-based personnel in Ontario and other provinces.