Seroprevalence of measles, rubella, mumps, varicella in health care workers

Introduction and Purpose: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to many infectious agents when compared with the general population because of the contact with respiratory secretions, infected blood and body fluids of patients. Immnunity to vaccine preventable diseases is important part of infection control among HCWs, both for their own health and for the health of patients. Currently, importance of immunization programmes for HCWs is significantly increasing. The aim of this study is to detect the immune status of MMRV in HCWs working at Bulent Ecevit University Medical Faculty Hospital and to define an appropriate vaccination program among HCWs by evaluating the cost effectivity of pre-vaccination screening. Methods: This study was conducted at Bulent Ecevit University School of Medicine between March 2014 and January 2015. The following data were recorded for each participant; age, gender, profession, department, duration of employment, childhood residence location, history of MMRV infections and status of MMRV vaccinations. The specific IgG antibodies against MMRV viruses were screened quantitatively with the use of immunosorbent enzyme- linked assay (ELISA) kids (NOVATEC). Results: Three hundred eighty-four HCWs participated in the study; of whom 61,2% were female, 38,8% were male and 52,6% of HCWs were nurses, 30,5% were cleaning staff and 16,9% were doctors. The mean age and the duration of the employment of the participants were 32,43±6,4 and 4,86±3,0, respectively. The proportion of HCWs who had antibodies against measles was 92,2%; rubella 98,2%, mumps 94%, and varicella 94,3%. The validity of the history of diseases were high for mumps and measles ( 81,6% and 80,5%, respectively) and at very low values for rubella (43,4%) in comparison with serologic tests and survey results. Also high positive predictive values for the history of disease was detected in all MMRV. The positive predictive values of history for rubella, mumps, varicella and measles were 98,9%, 97,5% and 96,9%, 95,6%, respectively. Cost-effective analysis showed that; the cost of vaccination without screening was significantly more expensive (cost difference: 20.787,00 ₺ ) for varicella and also vaccination without screening was expensive (cost difference: 2.507,00 ₺) for MMR. Our findings supported that serological screening before vaccination is cost effective especially for varicella. Conclusion: In conclusion,, our data might be used to determine the serologic status of HCWs in our hospital and to develop immunization programmes and education programmes for occupational safety. Immune status of HCWs who worked in high-risk departments must be supported by serologic tests and sensitive HCWs must be vaccinated. Keywords: Measles, rubella, mumps, varicella, vaccination, healthcare workers