Does hospital work constitute a risk factor for Helicobacter pylori infection?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess whether clinical work constitutes a risk factor for Helicobacter pylori infection among employees in hospitals. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was analysed in 249 individuals employed in a university teaching hospital according to three categories of hospital workers: (A) personnel from gastrointestinal endoscopy units (N=92); (B) personnel from other hospital units with direct patient contact (N=105); and (C) staff from laboratories and other units with no direct patient contact (N=52). Stool samples from each subject were examined with a validated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of H. pylori antigens. A questionnaire inquiring about sociodemographic and occupational characteristics was completed by each participant. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 37.0% in group A, 35.2% in group B and 19.2% in group C (P<0.05). Among the different healthcare categories, nurses had a significant higher prevalence of H. pylori infection (P<0.01). No significant association was found between the length of employment or exposure to oral and faecal secretions, and H. pylori infection. Hospital work involving direct patient contact seems to constitute a major risk factor for H. pylori infection compared with hospital work not involving direct patient contact.

Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence in Selected Groups of Albanian Volunteers

“…It has been demonstrated that hospital work involving direct patient contact seems to constitute a major risk for H. pylori infection compared with work not involving direct patient contact [14,15,32]. In accordance with data from previous studies, we did not find significant differences in the prevalence of H. pylori antibodies in the recruits compared to other groups [33,34].…”

The epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection in Europe and the impact of lifestyle on its natural evolution toward stomach cancer after infection: A systematic review

“…Furthermore, not all studies were equally clear about the inclusion or exclusion criteria, for example, in specifying whether or not a specific subpopulation was enrolled. Health workers have been reported to be more frequently infected than others, which could be a selection bias . In this review, studies of H. pylori infection among sick individuals or among health workers alone were excluded to avoid such overestimates as the aim of our review was to investigate the general adult population.…”

Genotyping of vacA alleles of <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> strains recovered from some Iranian food items

“…Recorded data show that 17 to 86 % of patients with peptic ulcers were positive for H. pylori [1][2][3]. Despite the high incidence of H. pylori, its exact routes of transmission and origin have not been well determined.…”