Hepatitis B Transmission Between Dental or Medical Workers and Patients

who directly or indirectly acquire the infection from their patients. The risk is higher for urban dentists and physi-cians and increases with years of practice. Dentists, espe-cially oral surgeons, are particularly at risk (1), as are physicians, especially surgeons and pathologists. In one study 14.4 % of dentists and 16.0 % of physicians had serologic evidence of past or current hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections compared to 4.4 % of nonmedical, first-time volunteer blood donors (2). Among physicians, 22.4 % in surgical subspecialties had serologic evidence of active or past HBV infections. High-risk hospital settings include hemodialysis units, oncology units, operating rooms, clinical laboratories, and blood banks. Dental of-fices and operatories are also high-risk settings. One study showed that the frequency of HBV infection