Compared to the general population, healthcare workers have a higher risk of hepatitis C infection, according to Reuters coverage of a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Researchers analyzed data from 44 previously published studies. They found healthcare workers in the U.S. and Europe are more than twice as likely to get hepatitis C than members of the general population. Male healthcare workers had triple the odds of hepatitis C infection, and female workers had a 50 percent greater chance, according to Reuters.
"Exposure to blood cannot completely be avoided when using 'safe' instruments, as they reduce the risk of needle stick injuries but do not completely prevent them," Claudia Westermann, the lead author of the study, told Reuters via email. "Therefore, blood borne virus infections will remain a threat to healthcare workers for some time to come."
William Buchta, MD, medical director of the occupational medicine practice at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, told Reuters that hepatitis C transmission in healthcare settings can be mitigated when workers follow proper infection control practices. "We simply need to get the message out to healthcare workers that they are at risk but can almost eliminate that risk without compromising the care they deliver," he said.