Diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella immunity in health care workers in neonatal units

Background Susceptible health care workers are at risk of acquiring and transmitting vaccine-preventable diseases to or from patients. The objective of this study was to assess antibody levels against diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella in healthcare workers. Methods Antibody levels against diphtheri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of infection control 2008-03, Vol.36 (2), p.142-147
Main Authors: dos Santos, Amélia Miyashiro Nunes, MD, PhD, Ono, Erika, MSc, Lobato, Renata Tonzar, MD, do Prado, Seila Israel, MD, Kopelman, Benjamin Israel, MD, PhD, Cavalcanti, Cláudia Macapani, MD, Monomi, Mary Kazume Ikezawa, MSc, Weckx, Lily Yin, MD, PhD, de Moraes-Pinto, Maria Isabel, MD, PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antibodies, Bacterial - blood
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the nervous system. Bacterial myositis
Biological and medical sciences
Brazil
Chickenpox - immunology
Cross Infection - prevention & control
Diphtheria - immunology
Ent and stomatologic bacterial diseases
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
Female
General aspects
Health Personnel
Hospitals
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infection Control
Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Tetanus - immunology
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Summary:Background Susceptible health care workers are at risk of acquiring and transmitting vaccine-preventable diseases to or from patients. The objective of this study was to assess antibody levels against diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella in healthcare workers. Methods Antibody levels against diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella were measured in health care professionals in 2 neonatal units at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. Results Between September and November 2002, 215 of 222 (96.8%) health care workers were studied. Of those, 122 (56.7%) gave oral information regarding their vaccination status against diphtheria and tetanus and only 9 (4.2%) had their vaccination cards. Geometric mean antibody levels against diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella were 0.89 IU/mL (95%CI, 0.73 to 1.08), 0.86 IU/mL (95%CI, 0.68 to 1.07) and 1.10 IU/mL (95%CI, 0.98 to 1.24), respectively. Using internationally accepted definitions, 200 (93.0%) and 182 (84.7%) individuals had full protection against diphtheria and tetanus, respectively. Regarding varicella, 213 (99.1%) individuals were immune and 2 (0.9%) had equivocal immunity against varicella. Of 65 (30.2%) individuals without previous history of the illness, 63 (96.9%) were immune against varicella zoster virus. Conclusions Based on serologic screening, most professionals were immune to diphtheria, tetanus, and varicella. Absence of previous history of varicella was an unreliable identifier of susceptibility to varicella zoster virus in the health care workers studied.
ISSN:0196-6553
1527-3296
DOI:10.1016/j.ajic.2007.04.283