The prevalence of hepatitis C infection among the dentists of Yazd and assessment of their knowledge about hepatitis

Statement of Problem: Hepatitis C is a relatively common infection which can be transmitted through accidental inoculation consequently dentists are highly at the risk of exposure to this virus. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of Hepatitis C among the dentists of Yazd and to evaluate their knowledge about the existing ways for the transmission and prevention of this infection. In this descriptive- analytic study which was performed periodically (2002), the sera of all dentists practicing in Yazd were tested (104 samples) in the laboratory of Yazd blood transfusion organization initially by 1st generation of Elisa for Anti HCV followed by Riba on positive samples to confirm the results. Meanwhile a questionnaire assessing their knowledge about hepatitis was completed the by the dentists. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and t test. None of the one hundred and four samples of sera were positive for Anti HCV. Mean score of their knowledge was 14.80 (of 20). The knowledge of 92.1% of them was at moderate to high level. No significant difference was observed between Yazd's dentists knowledge about hepatitis C in different age, gender and length of professional experience groups. According to this study, the absence of HCV among the dentists of Yazd is mainly attributed to the low prevalence of HCV infection among general population, though it can also be an indicative of the knowledge and excellent performance of the dentists to prevent the transmission of infection through blood and saliva.