Wr. Lange et al., PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS-B, HEPATITIS-C, AND HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS MARKERS AMONG HOSPITAL EMPLOYMENT APPLICANTS, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 37(4), 1995, pp. 486-489
To delineate baseline seroprevalence rates before job placement, appli
cants for employment (n = 300) at a large urban medical center were sc
reened for serologic markers to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis
C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during a 15-wee
k period in 1992. Eighteen applicants (6%) were positive for antibodie
s to HBV, nine (3%) for HCV, and 3 (1%) for HIV. There was no associat
ion by gender for any of these viral markers; however, both HBV and HC
V were significantly more often detected in persons applying for hourl
y positions who were black. In an urban setting, preemployment screeni
ng of health care workers for HBV and HCV markers appears warranted, a
nd serum banking for later HN analysis, should a claim arise, is sugge
sted.