[Occupational diseases of health care workers]

During the past years in Czechoslovakia some 5000 occupational diseases, intoxications and other occupational health damage was recorded. Per year about one fifth of the affected people were health workers. The authors made an analysis of occupational diseases in the South Moravian region in 1975 to 1990. A total of 1726 occupational diseases of health professionals were recorded. In 91.8% contagious diseases were involved, in 7.4% dermatoses--where the most frequent condition was contact eczema. In 0.5% other occupational diseases were involved such as asthma bronchiale, damage to haematopoiesis by ionizing radiation, damage of the nerves of the upper extremities by locally transmitted vibrations, epicondylitis of the humerus and dysphonia in a teacher in a school for health workers. Other health damage was found only in 0.3%. In three instances serious malignancies of the urinary system were found in oncologists who had been administering cytostatics for prolonged periods. The most frequent occupational disease of health workers was in 65.4% viral hepatitis, in recent years with a steadily declining trend. The paper indicates that health professions were during the past period, as compared with traditional ideas, associated with a considerable risk.