Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancements and Challenges in Hepatitis B Virus Detection
Published on: December 15, 2023
Hepatitis B in Healthcare Personnel: An Update on the Global Landscape
Georgia B Nikolopoulou1, Ioannis Tzoutzas2, Athanasios Tsakris3
1Department of Hepatitis, National Public Health Organization, 3-5 Agrafon Street, 15123 Athens, Greece.
Insights
Hepatitis B remains a concern for healthcare personnel (HCP) globally, with low vaccination rates and knowledge gaps contributing to infection. Improved policies, education, and access to prevention are crucial for HCP safety.
Area of Science:
- * Public Health
- * Infectious Diseases
- * Occupational Health
Background:
- * Hepatitis B continues to pose a significant risk to healthcare personnel (HCP) worldwide.
- * Despite advances, infection prevalence varies greatly, linked to low vaccination rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To review recent literature (2017-2023) on hepatitis B in HCP.
- * To identify knowledge gaps, vaccination status, and policy disparities.
- * To highlight the need for improved prevention and management strategies.
Main Methods:
- * Systematic review of studies on hepatitis B in HCP published between 2017 and April 2023.
- * Analysis of prevalence data, vaccination rates, knowledge, and policy aspects.
Main Results:
- * Hepatitis B prevalence in HCP ranges from 0.6% (Europe) to over 8.7% (Africa), strongly associated with low vaccination coverage.
- * Significant links found between HCP knowledge, vaccination status, and practices.
- * Global inequities identified in hepatitis B vaccination policies, access to free vaccines, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
Conclusions:
- * Enhanced strategies for preventing and managing accidental exposures are essential for HCP.
- * Development of comprehensive written policies for infection prevention, protective equipment, and PEP is critical.
- * Targeted education for HCP is imperative, especially considering declining routine vaccinations and potential future transmission pools.
Abstract:
Despite the outstanding progress that has been made in the prevention, detection, and management of hepatitis B during the past decades, hepatitis B remains a problem among healthcare personnel (HCP) in many countries. We reviewed studies on all aspects of hepatitis B in HCP published from 2017 through April 2023. They revealed wide variations on the prevalence of infection among HCP, ranging from 0.6% in Europe to >8.7% in Africa, almost always in association with very low vaccination rates. Many studies found a significant association between HCP's knowledge about hepatitis B and hepatitis B vaccines, their vaccination status, and practices. This research also discloses global inequities regarding vaccination policies against hepatitis B, free-of-charge vaccinations, and access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Strategies to prevent and manage accidental exposures are needed in order to reduce the burden of hepatitis B on HCP, while written policies for all aspects of infection prevention, protective equipment, and PEP should be available. Lastly, HCP should be accordingly educated. These are all imperative given the decline of routine vaccinations in the COVID-19 era, particularly in countries with fragile vaccination programs, and the disruptions of interventions for hepatitis B that are expected to provide a pool of virus transmission to future generations.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
01:22PPE Use in Healthcare Settings I: Donning
01:30Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...