Background. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a well recognised occupational health hazard preventable by vaccination. Objectives. To determine the knowledge of operating room personnel (ORP) in Nigeria about the Hepatitis B vaccine, their perception of Hepatitis B vaccination and vaccination status against HBV. Methods. Four university hospitals were selected by simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire was administered to 228 ORP after obtaining consent. Result. Only 26.8% of ORP were vaccinated against HBV. The primary reason for not being vaccinated or for defaulting from vaccination was lack of time. Differences in age, sex, duration of practice and respondent's institution between vaccinated and unvaccinated ORP were not significant ( ). The majority (86.8%) had the awareness of the existence of Hepatitis B vaccine. 83.8% of respondents believed that the vaccine should be given to the ORP as part of work place safety measures. The majority were aware of the modes of transmission of HBV infection. 78.9% of respondents believed that Hepatitis B vaccine is safe and 81.1% would recommend it to another staff. Conclusion. Despite a good knowledge about HBV infection and vaccine, most of ORP are still not vaccinated. Hepatitis B vaccination should be a prerequisite for working in the theatre, hence putting surgical patients at reduced risk. 1. Introduction The most serious occupational health hazard faced by health care workers worldwide is exposure to blood-borne pathogens. These blood-borne pathogens are mainly Hepatitis B, C, and HIV infection. Hepatitis B is by far the most dreaded with over 2 billion people affected worldwide and 350 million people suffering from chronic hepatitis B virus infection [1]. It is more infectious than the other blood-borne pathogens and estimates of the risk of a single needlestick injury indicate a risk of 300 hepatitis B virus infection (30% risk), 30 hepatitis C virus infection (3% risk) and 3 HIV infection (0.3% risk), per 1,000 respective exposures [2]. In the United States, the incidence of HBV infection among all health care workers is estimated to be 3.5 to 4.6 infections per 1000 workers, which is 2- to 4-times the level for the general population [3]. The disease is thus more likely in health workers in Nigeria, a country with high prevalence of the disease. Among health care workers, operating room personnel are at a high risk of infection with blood-borne pathogens through blood contact [4]. This group of health workers has been shown not to follow standard precautions and not to report all
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