Needlestick injuries and hepatitis B virus vaccination in health care workers

An analysis of 2646 needlestick injuries in hospitals in the Greater Manchester area between April 1992 and April 1999 was carried out. Ten per cent of members of staff injured in these incidents had never been vaccinated against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 27% of those who had been vaccinated had no anti-HBs (< 10 IU/L). Although few health care workers were at risk of transmission of HBV through needlestick incidents in this study (0.6% (12/2084) of all source patients were HBsAg positive; 9 HBeAg positive, 7 anti-HBe positive), the large number of members of staff who were not protected from HBV infection indicates a need for occupational health departments to reinforce HBV vaccination policies.