HEPATITIS B VACCINATION STATUS AND NEEDLE STICK INJURY EXPOSURE AMONG OPERATING ROOM STAFF IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an infective blood-borne pathogen that is a constant threat to operating room staff. The prevalence of Hepatitis B has been reported to range from 4.3% - 68% in Nigeria. The inadequate funding of health care in low income countries impacts negatively on the implementation of effective vaccination programs to protect health care workers including surgical theatre personnel.

Aim: To determine the Hepatitis B vaccination status and the needle stick injury exposure among operating room staff in Lagos, Nigeria.

Methodology: The multicentre prospective survey was conducted in three public tertiary hospitals and two private hospitals in Lagos utilising a self-administered structured questionnaire that was distributed to operating room staff.

Results: We found that 96.7% (265) of respondents agreed that their job had exposed them to the risk of HBV infection. Over half (55.8%) correctly identified three doses of HBV as adequate to confer immunity against infection. It was observed that 58% (159) of the respondents were fully vaccinated, most of whom were doctors (69.8%, p=0.001) while a total of 173 (63.1%) reported exposure to needle-stick injury with blood in the preceding year.

Conclusion: The operating room personnel were knowledgeable about the risk of HBV as an occupational hazard but a large number were not fully vaccinated against HBV infection. There was therefore the need to improve the vaccination coverage and educate identified high-risk operating room staff on appropriate post exposure prophylaxis practices.