Health Care Providers and Viral Hepatitis

Health care providers should be vaccinated against hepatitis B and tested for hepatitis C after a potential exposure.

The delivery of health care has the potential to transmit hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) to both health-care workers and patients. Outbreaks of HBV and HCV infection have occurred in outpatient settings, hemodialysis units, long-term-care facilities, and hospitals, primarily as a result of unsafe injection practices; reuse of needles, fingerstick devices, and syringes; and other lapses in infection control. To prevent transmission of bloodborne pathogens, health-care providers should adhere to recommended standard precautions and fundamental infection-control principles, including safe injection practices and appropriate aseptic techniques.

For continued protection, CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend that health-care providers and public-safety workers with reasonably anticipated risk for exposures to blood or infectious body fluids receive the complete hepatitis B vaccine series and have their immunity documented through postvaccination testing.