[Epidemiology of hepatitis B in hospital personnel (author's transl)]

This is a seroepidemiological study of infection by viral hepatitis type B affecting sanitary personnel in a general hospital with the objective of determining the occupational risk factor in the acquisition of this disease. Of the 791 subjects who participated in the study, 146 (18.5 percent) showed signs of present or past infection due to virus B (HBsAg or anti-HBs positive by RIA). Seropositivity in hospital personnel was significantly higher that observed in the population of 834 volunteer blood donors (12 percent). The greater frequency of signs of infection was observed in those who had frequent contact with blood and its derivates, and in those who had been working more than 5 years in the hospital. The occupational category with the greatest risk of acquisition of this infection is cleaning personnel, followed by physicians and nurses; and the work areas of greatest risk are the blood bank and the laboratory. The results of this epidemiological survey suggest that viral hepatitis acquired before the initiation of the hospital work are not predominantly B, while those acquired during hospital work are predominantly of type B.