[The risk of acquiring hepatitis B during medical training]

The article discusses exposure to blood and other human body fluids at medical school. 230 of 303 students in the last year of medical school answered a questionnaire. The average number of reported contacts with blood or certain other human body fluids per student during medical school was 15, of which two referred to inoculations. One or more inoculations were reported by 63% of the students, and 13% reported five or more inoculations. Of 32 not previously vaccinated students one was anti-HBsAg antibody positive and one was anti-HBcAg antibody positive. The paper discusses whether medical students in Norway should be offered free hepatitis B vaccination before embarking on the clinical part of their training.