Cross infection control methods adopted by medical and dental practitioners in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Cross infection control is an essential aspect of medical and dental practice. The purpose of this study was to assess the various methods of cross infection control adopted by medical and dental practitioners in Benin City. Method: A structured self–administered questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected group of medical and dental practitioners in order to assess their cross infection control methods, attitude to sterilization of equipment and immunization against hepatitis B virus. Result: Of the 113 practitioners surveyed, 98.1% of them sterilised their equipments. The various methods used were autoclaving 46%, a combination of autoclaving and cold sterilisation 25.7% and other methods 25%. Practitioners who wash their hands before and after examining patients constituted 72.6% and 94.7% respectively. Those who screened blood before transfusing were 79.5% while 4.5% and 19.5% reused needles and syringes respectively. Although 77.9% of respondents suffered needle stick injury, only 10.6% were immunised against hepatitis B virus. Respondents who did not regularly wear face masks and eye goggles during operative procedure constituted 77.9% and 64.6% respectively. Similarly 40.7% of practitioners did not wear gloves when examining patients. Conclusion: Our finding shows that although most the practitioners studied recognised the importance of cross infection control in practice, strict compliance still posed a problem. Keywords:Cross infection, control methods, medical and dental practitioners Annals of African Medicine Vol.2(2) 2003: 72-7