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Background: Worldwide, prevalence of anti-HCV positivity in health care workers (HCWs) ranges from 0% to 9.7%. The current study was conducted to calculate prevalence of HCV infection, frequency and characteristics of blood and body fluid (BBF) exposure among HCW at the Alexandria University Hospitals. Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional approach was adopted. At the Hospitals, 62.2% of available nurses and paramedical personnel voluntarily participated (n = 499), and were interviewed, screened for HCV antibodies. Quantitative estimation of HCV-RNA was done to seropositive cases. Results: Prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV infection was 8.6%, and 4.4% respectively. The frequency of BBF exposures was 66.7%. Blood/blood products were mainly involved (92.1%). More than half of exposed HCWs reported not wearing personal protective devices. Anatomical site of exposure was mainly right hand palm (36.2%). Regarding needle-stick injuries, two thirds of injured HCWs were the original user of sharp item which was contaminated in 79.7% of injuries. In 70.2% of injuries, disposable syringes were involved and occurred during item disposal. About 61% of injuries were superficial. Conclusion: Prevalence of HCV infection among HCWs is similar to that among general population in the country. Nurses and housekeepers are frequently exposed to BBF. Adherence to infection control measures according to the National Guidelines is crucial to reduce HCV transmission. Keywords: Hepatitis C, Infection, Needlestick injuries, Nurses, Paramedical personnel

The production of carbon black (CB) has been considered as one of the top 50 industrial chemicals manufactured worldwide. Working in CB manufacturing process might pose a cardiovascular risk. This ...

Background: Of the estimated 384,000 needle-stick injuries occurring in hospitals each year, 23% occur in surgical settings. This study was conducted to assess safe injection procedures, injection practices, and circumstances contributing to needlestick and sharps injures (NSSIs) in operating rooms.Methods: A descriptive cross sectional approach was adopted. Modified observational checklists based on World Health Organization (WHO) definitions were used in operating rooms (n = 34) and interview questionnaire was administered to HCWs (n = 318) at the Alexandria Main University Hospital.Results: Safe injection procedures regarding final waste disposal were sufficiently adopted, while measures regarding disposable injection equipment, waste containers, hand hygiene, as well as injection practices were inadequately carried out. Lack of job aid posters that promote safe injection and safe disposal of injection equipment (100%), overflowing of sharps containers and presence of infectious waste outside containers (50%), HCWs not cleaning their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (58.1%), and HCWs not wearing gloves during IV cannula insertion (58.1%), were all findings during observations. High prevalence of NSSIs was reported (61.3%), mostly during handling suture needles (50.8%). In addition, 66.2% of the injured HCWs were the original user of the sharp item which was contaminated in 80% of injuries. At time of NSSI, 79% HCWs were wearing gloves. The most common injured sites were left fingers (39.5%), and 55.4% of injuries were superficial. After exposure, 97.9% did not report their exposure. The source patient was not tested for HBV, HCV and HIV infection in more than 70% of injuries and 96.9% of injured HCWs did not receive post exposure prophylaxis.Conclusion: The study highlighted that inadequately adopted safe injection procedures and insufficient injection practices lead to high prevalence of NSSIs in operating rooms.Keywords: Needlestick injuries, Sharps injuries, Injections, Post-exposure prophylaxis, Operating rooms

IntroductionMany workers in Alexandria are exposed to a variety of occupational and environmental allergens and/or irritants that predispose them to the development of bronchial asthma. The present study was conducted to determine the role of occupational exposure as a determinant of occurrence of bronchial asthma and to assess the possible role of total serum IgE; eosinophil count and GSTM1 and GSTT1 null polymorphism as risk factors for the development of bronchial asthma.MethodsA case control study was conducted in which 100 workers with bronchial asthma were compared to 100 non asthmatic controls regarding their occupational characteristics, bronchodilator responsiveness, blood analysis for eosinophil count, total serum IgE, GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes.ResultsExposure to irritants and allergens were significantly higher among workers with bronchial asthma compared to controls (86% vs. 64%, respectively, P=0.00). Moreover, workers exposed to irritants were found to be 4 times at a higher risk of developing bronchial asthma, and those exposed to high molecular weight (HMW), and/or low molecular weight (LMW) were about three times at a higher risk of developing bronchial asthma. There was no significant difference detected between the cases of bronchial asthma and the controls regarding the frequency of the Null-genotype for either GSTT1 or GSTM1. However, the frequency of combined Null-genotype for both GSTT1 and GSTM1 was significantly higher in asthmatic workers than in controls. A significant positive correlation was found between total serum IgE level and pre-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC% (r=0.29, and P=0.03).ConclusionOccupational exposure to irritants and/or allergens is a significant risk factor for the occurrence of bronchial asthma among workers. On the other hand, eosinophil count and total serum IgE neither predicts the occurrence of bronchial asthma nor affects the severity and pattern of the disease among workers with bronchial asthma. Moreover, the present study concluded that GSTM1 and GSTT1 Null-genotypes are not likely to act as risk factors for the development of bronchial asthma. However, combined GSTT1 and GSTM1 Null-genotypes were considered as a potential risk factor for the development of bronchial asthma.