Abstract
Health workers (HWs) run an increased risk of infection. The standardised data set of an accident insurer was used to analyse the time trends of infection-related claims and confirmed occupational diseases (ODs) in HWs. The numbers of claims and confirmed claims for different infections were analysed for the years 1996 to 2017. The rate of claims and confirmed ODs were calculated per 100,000 full-time workers. The number of claims was relatively stable over time. However, the rate per 100,000 full-time workers decreased from 25.2 to 15.4. The decrease was most pronounced for hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections, which were the most frequent infections for which claims were made at the start of the period. In 2017, tuberculosis (TB)-related claims were more frequent than those related to blood-borne virus infections. However, the growing number of TB claims does not reflect an increased infection risk, but rather improved methods for the diagnosis of latent TB infection (LTBI). Measures to prevent blood-borne virus infections in HWs were successful in the last 22 years, but attention should be paid to newly emerging infections.
Highlights
Health workers (HWs) run an increased risk of contracting infectious diseases
While an increase was observed for TB, the decrease in hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections explains the overall decrease in occupational diseases (ODs) over time
The number of ODs caused by infections in HWs decreased over the last 22 years in Germany
Summary
Health workers (HWs) run an increased risk of contracting infectious diseases This increased risk is well documented for a variety of old infections such as tuberculosis [1,2,3], blood-borne virus infections such as hepatitis C [4], and influenza [5]. It exists for new infections such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS) [6,7,8,9], the H1N1-pandemic in 2009 [10,11], and multidrug resistant bacteria like Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) [12]. The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) enacted in the USA in 2000 was a landmark in protecting HWs from blood-borne virus infections. If a vaccination for a particular infection such as hepatitis B exists and if HWs are at risk of this infection, vaccination is offered at the employer’s expense and the occupational health physician is responsible for recommending and performing the
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