Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens and Management of Exposure Incidents in Nigerian Dental Schools

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational exposures to bloodborne pathogens amongst Nigerian clinical dental students, their HBV vaccination status, and reporting practices. A cross-sectional study of all clinical dental students in the four Nigerian dental schools was carried out by means of an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that asked questions on demography, number and type of exposure, management of the exposures, personal protection against cross infection, and the reporting of such exposures. One hundred and fifty-three students responded (response rate of 84.5 percent). Only thirty-three (37.9 percent) were fully vaccinated against HBV. Ninety (58.8 percent) of the students have had at least one occupational exposure. There was no significantly associated difference between sex, age, location of school, and exposure. Most of the exposures (44.4 percent) occurred in association with manual tooth cleaning. There was inadequate protection of the eyes. None of the exposures were formally reported. It is the responsibility of training institutions to ensure the safety of the students by mandatory HBV vaccination prior to exposure and adequate training in work safety. Written policies and procedures should be developed and made easily accessible to all workers to facilitate prompt reporting and management of all occupational exposures.Dr. Sofola is Senior Lecturer,

Infection control: Knowledge and compliance among Saudi undergraduate dental students

“…Proper hepatitis B vaccination is the best procedure to prevent contagious transmission during dental treatments [ 7 ]. The prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination among dental health workers varies from 38% to 100% [ 3 ], [ 7 ], [ 13 ], [ 14 ], [ 15 ], [ 16 ], [ 17 ]. In the present study, the majority (90%) reported having been vaccinated against hepatitis B.…”

“…Unfortunately, despite the considerable emphasis placed on the importance of adherence to these protocols, studies have shown that few dentists actually adhere to the standardized infection control procedures in their daily practice [ 4 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ], [ 11 ]. Moreover, several studies worldwide have investigated undergraduate dental students’ knowledge and attitudes regarding infection control, finding very poor compliance with infection control guidelines and indicating the need to improve the knowledge and attitudes regarding infection control [ 3 ], [ 7 ], [ 12 ], [ 13 ], [ 14 ], [ 15 ]. To date, no published data exists regarding infection control practices among dental students in Saudi Arabia.…”

HEPATITIS B AND C; KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS AT RLMC AND AFFILIATED HOSPITALS (AMTH & HLH)

“…23 Our study results regarding this issue are much better than the results quoted in two other studies in Germany and Nigeria where health care workers' vaccination percentage was found to be only 37.9 and 18.1% respectively. 24,25 Stakeholders who are seeing vaccination as a only tool to prevent spread of these infections among health care workers are really alarmed by this lack of adherence to the vaccination schedule and nonadoption of universal precautions by health care workers in their routine practices. This fact can be verified from this study in which almost one fourth of the participants still don't wear gloves (17.1%), or dispose off Sharps adequately (19.4%) in the course of their work.…”

Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection Among Health Care Workers in General Surgery Department, Assiut Univers Ity Hospitals

“…Varying figures were reported from different countries of the world regarding complete vaccination (≥3doses) against hepatitis B virus among HCWs, ranging from 68% in Turkey (Azap et al, 2005), 61.5% in India (Setia et al, 2013), 56.1% in Syria (Yacoub et al, 2010), 41.2% in Germany (Schenkel et al, 2008) to 37.9% in Nigeria (Sofola et al, 2007).…”