[Hepatitis B as nosocomial infection (aspects of epidemiology and prevention)]

Hepatitis B (HB) was recorded in 1478 (32.3%) of 4577 patients with acute viral hepatitis in Moscow in 1992. Half (50.6%) the patients were infected with HB virus during therapeutical and diagnostic parenteral interventions in 66.1% of them at hospitals, in 7.5% during transfusions of blood and its components (at hospitals too) in the others via natural routes. The HB morbidity per 100,000 patients treated in some Moscow one-profile hospitals sharply differed (74.2 to 89.6 at one hospitals and 5.9 to 7.6% at others). The high HB morbidity at some Moscow hospitals, the group incidence of the disease were associated with the inadequate sterilization quality of medical and laboratory instruments, with the shortage of expendable instruments. The implementation of a complex of measures at individual hospitals, which were aimed at stopping the artificial HB virus transmission routes resulted in 8.2-11.7%-reductions in HB morbidity rates among the patients treated there. In 1990-1992 the HB morbidity among Moscow medical staff was 3.0-3.5-fold than among adults of the city. Surgeons, reanimatologists, and laboratory personnel more frequently fell ill. HB vaccination should be high-priority among this contingent.