SERO-PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS B INFECTION AMONG DENTAL PROFESSIONALS:(pdf from SMJ)
M Vadivale, T C Tan, C N OngABSTRACTDental employees in government institutions in a State in Peninsular Malaysia were screened for exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV)in 1989. Almost all (96.8%) of the 217 employees responded. One quarter (24.8%) was positive for at ¡east one serological markersto HBV; 2.4% had hepatitis B surface antigen (IlBsAg) and 22.4% had anti-body to IIBsAg (anti-HBs). The presence ofHBsAg wasunrelated to age, sex, ethnicity, geographical locality and occupations of the subjects. The prevalence ofanti-HBs increased with ageand was highest for ethnic Chinese (53.6%), followed by Indians (25%), compared to Malays (14.9%) (p<0.001) and were increasedamong dentists (53.1%) and assistant nurses (33.3%). The overall prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBs were similar to the situationin the community. However, dentists and their chairside assistant nurses, with a higher proportion of Chinese, had higher anti-HBsprevalences compared with that of the general population."
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