Abstract
Hepatitis as an occupational hazard for healthcare workers began to be appreciated in the United States a little over 40 years ago, with the granting of the first compensation award to a blood bank employee with serum-transmitted hepatitis.' At least 32 additional cases in healthcare workers were reported within the next two years, mostly, but not exclusively, as a result of the accidental inoculation of blood or serum.2,3 It has been only in the last 15 years, however, that the major viruses causing hepatitis have been differentiated, that the main modes of transmission have been delineated, and that some effective methods of prevention have been developed. All five of the primary hepatotropic viruses, A-E, remain a threat to healthcare workers, but the nosocomial transmission risk of each virus varies considerably, depending on certain characteristics of the patient population, the job description of the healthcare worker, and the degree of compliance with effective preventive measures such as handwashing, barrier and sharps injury precautions, and vaccination.
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