HEPATITIS-B IN HEALTH-WORKERS IN ITALY

In Italy, a vaccination campaign against hepatitis B was launched in 1 985. It was strongly recommended for health care workers. Over the per iod 1986-91 the incidence rate of acute B hepatitis in the general pop ulation declined from 12/100,000 in 1986 to 5/100,000 in 1991. The cor responding figures among hospital workers were 42.5/100,000 (RR 3.5; 9 5% CI 2.55-4.92) in 1986 and 14.5/100,000 (RR 2.9; 95% CI 2.03-4.14) i n 1991, respectively. The proportion of HBV cases with jaundice was ab out the same in the general population (77.6%) and in the health care staff (74.2%). Nearly 6% of hospital workers cases had completed the s chedule of HBV vaccine. Despite the fact that vaccination against HBV has been strongly recommended for hospital workers, the incidence of i nfection in this job category has continued to be higher than that in the general population, probably as a consequence of poor vaccine cove rage. These findings reiterate the need for aggressive vaccination pro grammes in hospital workers.