Seroprevalence surveys of vaccine-preventable diseases among HCWs, although labor intensive, are invaluable in caring for a multinational workforce.
Objective.To determine the prevalence of the vaccine-preventable diseases caused by varicella, measles, rubella, and hepatitis A and B viruses in a multinational healthcare workforce.Design.Prospective cohort study.Setting.A 750-bed tertiary care center located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Methods.In compliance with hospital policy, newly recruited healthcare workers (HCWs) were enrolled in the study from September 2001 to March 2005. Serum samples were collected from all HCWs during the initial hiring process and tested for IgG antibodies against each of the 5 viral agents. Nonimmune HCWs were subsequently vaccinated at the earliest opportunity.Results.A total of 4,006 newly hired (international and local) employees were included in the study. All underwent serologic testing for IgG antibodies against varicella, measles, rubella, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B viruses. Of the total, 63% were female and 37% were male. Middle Eastern employees comprised 47% of the total, followed by employees from the Far East (35%), the West (10%), and Africa (8%). Forty-two percent were nurses, 27% were in administration, 18% were medical technicians, and 13% were physicians. Among the 4,006 newly hired HCWs, 14% had negative IgG antibody test results for varicella virus, 13% for measles virus, 10% for rubella virus, 33% for hepatitis A virus, and 43% for hepatitis B virus. More women than men were susceptible to hepatitis A (40% vs. 24%;P< .001), whereas more men were susceptible to hepatitis B (55% vs. 35%;P< .001). Varicella susceptibility was more common among HCWs from the Far East (19%), whereas susceptibility to measles, rubella, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B was highest among HCWs from the Middle East. Both relative youth and male sex were associated with lack of antibodies against hepatitis B virus and rubella virus. In contrast, female sex and younger age were associated with lack of antibodies against hepatitis A virus (P< .001).Conclusion.Seroprevalence surveys of vaccine-preventable diseases among HCWs, although labor intensive, are invaluable in caring for a multinational workforce.
Objective.To determine the prevalence of the vaccine-preventable diseases caused by varicella, measles, rubella, and hepatitis A and B viruses in a multinational healthcare workforce.Design.Prospective cohort study.Setting.A 750-bed tertiary care center located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Methods.In compliance with hospital policy, newly recruited healthcare workers (HCWs) were enrolled in the study from September 2001 to March 2005. Serum samples were collected from all HCWs during the initial hiring process and tested for IgG antibodies against each of the 5 viral agents. Nonimmune HCWs were subsequently vaccinated at the earliest opportunity.Results.A total of 4,006 newly hired (international and local) employees were included in the study. All underwent serologic testing for IgG antibodies against varicella, measles, rubella, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B viruses. Of the total, 63% were female and 37% were male. Middle Eastern employees comprised 47% of the total, followed by employees from the Far East (35%), the West (10%), and Africa (8%). Forty-two percent were nurses, 27% were in administration, 18% were medical technicians, and 13% were physicians. Among the 4,006 newly hired HCWs, 14% had negative IgG antibody test results for varicella virus, 13% for measles virus, 10% for rubella virus, 33% for hepatitis A virus, and 43% for hepatitis B virus. More women than men were susceptible to hepatitis A (40% vs. 24%;P< .001), whereas more men were susceptible to hepatitis B (55% vs. 35%;P< .001). Varicella susceptibility was more common among HCWs from the Far East (19%), whereas susceptibility to measles, rubella, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B was highest among HCWs from the Middle East. Both relative youth and male sex were associated with lack of antibodies against hepatitis B virus and rubella virus. In contrast, female sex and younger age were associated with lack of antibodies against hepatitis A virus (P< .001).Conclusion.Seroprevalence surveys of vaccine-preventable diseases among HCWs, although labor intensive, are invaluable in caring for a multinational workforce.
Aim of the study: Despite achieving a high cure rate of chronic hepatitis C nowadays, treatment failure remains a major concern and host genetic polymorphism could have a possible relation. The aim was to evaluate the role of chemokine receptor CXCR6 gene polymorphism in treatment response to direct acting antivirals (DAAs) in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. Material and methods:We investigated the chemokine receptor CXCR6 gene single nucleotide polymorphism rs2234358 in three groups. Responder and non-responder groups (each comprising 50 naïve patients) and a control group of 50 apparently healthy individuals were studied. Results: Genotype distribution revealed a significant difference (p = 0.037) between non-responders and the other 2 groups. Both control and responder groups showed allelic frequencies of 20% having the wild allele G and 80% having the variant allele T, while in the non-responder group 39% had G and 61% had the T alleles. Genotype GG was associated with significant increased risk of not responding to treatment by 4.25 times as compared with TT genotype (p = 0.019) and the G allele was associated with highly significant risk of not responding to treatment by 2.56 times compared with the T allele (p = 0.003). Conclusions: CXCR6 gene (rs2234358) polymorphism could have a potential role in the virological treatment response with a protective effect of the T allele. This could explain the higher treatment success rate of Egyptian HCV patients.
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