SERO-PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS OF BLOOD-BORNE VIRAL INFECTION AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS OF A TERTIARY REFERRAL HOSPITAL: A SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE

Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are often exposed to contaminated blood and body fluids from infected patients. There is no study on blood-borne infection in Iraqi Kurdistan; therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence of blood-borne infections of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and their associated risk factors among HCWs in the hospital.

Material and methods
This cross-sectional study included 800 HCWs from a major tertiary teaching hospital, who were selected using a non-random technique.

Results
The mean age of the HCWs was 35.15 years (range: 18-70 years), consisting of males (56.0%) and females (44.0%) from various specialties and different departments. The seroprevalence of HBV was 0.75% (n=6) among HCWs. However, the seroprevalence of HBV was not significantly different among HCWs with different characteristics. Only one HCW had a positive result for HCV (0.13%), while no HCWs were found to have HIV. The study showed that 34.63% had experienced needlestick injuries, and 64.88% had received the HBV vaccination. Additionally, 27.20% were smokers, and 1.42% were alcohol consumers. Other characteristics included previous hospitalization (17.28%), a history of blood transfusion (6.23%), a history of surgical operations (27.48%), and a history of dental interventions (86.69%).

Conclusions
The study revealed a low seroprevalence of HBV and HCV among HCWs in this study. No active HIV infection and almost none of them had contact with HCV.