SEROLOGIC EVALUATION FOR HEPATITIS B AND C AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP (PALESTINE)

Abstract

A cross sectional study of 399 healthcare personnel was conducted in governmental healthcare settings of the southern region of Gaza Strip. The results revealed that, the prevalence of HBsAg was 2.8% among health workers and 1.3% for anti-HCV. None of the samples was found to be positive for both HBsAg and anti-HCV. Furthermore, 18.7% of the reactive cases (HbsAg or anti-HCV) have shown elevation in the liver enzyme ALT. Needle injection showed a highly significant association as a main risk factor for infection. The rate of infection among non-vaccinated health workers was approximately twice (4.1%) that among vaccinated participants (2.0%). However, among those who had less than 3 doses regimen of vaccine, the rate of infection was higher (3.9%) than those who had received the 3 doses (1.5%). All healthcare workers should be offered full HBV coverage vaccination. In addition, there is a need to better determination of the risk for HBsAg and anti-HCV transmission in selected settings.