Prevalence of anti-HBc antibodies among medical workers, depending on age, gender, and occupational categories

Despite a wide availability of specific prophylaxis against viral hepatitis B (HBV), the issues of HBV morbidity among healthcare workers remain quite sufficient. A latent form of hepatitis (LHB) may play a role in maintaining the epidemic spread of HBV. The aim of the study was to identify the dependence of the incidence of anti-HBc antibodies among employees of medical institutions by their age, gender and professional categories. Materials and methods: Blood serum samples were tested for anti-HBc in 1,643 medical staff members (doctors, nurses, paramedics, other personnel). Blood sera were examined for the presence of anti-HBc by ELISA using the HepaBest anti-HBc-IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system manufactured by Vector-Best-Europe JSC. The results were statistically analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2010 and Prism9 (GraphPad, USA). For comparison groups of medical workers according to the frequency of occurrence of Anti-HBc, the chi-square criterion was used. Results. Anti-HBs were detected in 601 persons, thus reaching 36.6% of the total study sample. In 1042 subjects (63.4%), anti-HBs were not revealed. Almost half of paramedical personnel from the study sample were IgG seropositive for the HBV nuclear antigen (50.6%). There were no significant differences in the anti-HBc detection rates for men (31.5%) and women (37.0%). In the structure of seropositive anti-HBc, a smaller percentage was detected in the category “young age” (24.0%), the largest prevalence is noted in the category of “middle age” (45 to 59 years), with 38.8%, which may be associated with service duration and longer exposure to potential HBV sources. The detection frequencies of anti-HBc to HBV nuclear antigen, along with anti-virus surface protein antibodies (anti-HBs) represent an index of HBV prevalence. We would like to recommend anti-HB testing for the medical staff members before repeated immunization and with additional examinations (search for viral DNA with a positive result) in order to exclude medical workers as a source of infection followed by further monitoring of these persons for timely medical aid, as well as adjusting the vaccination volume against HBV in this professional cohort.