title: Incidence of hepatitis B exposure among USAF dental laboratory technicians.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to survey, serologically, the exposure history of USAF dental laboratory technicians to hepatitis B virus (HBV), and to compare the incidence to that found in the general military population. Blood samples from 145 technicians, with an average age of 26.9 (S.D. = 6.9) in four locations in the USA and Europe, were tested for the presence of HBV core antibody using a standard enzyme immunoassay (EIA) procedure. These results were compared against 397 military members in non-medical fields of equivalent age and rank. The binomially distributed data was converted to a z distribution and a statistically significant difference was found in a comparison of the probability of detecting anti-HBc in each population (P = 0.034) where the incidence among the technicians was 2.7% and the military population 0.76%. Use of a "barrier system" in the laboratory, and vaccinations, could prevent any increase in this incidence from an occupational source.
authors.affiliation: 475th Medical Group, Yokota AB, Japan.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Mayhew
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lagree
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Tiffany
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003800:Dental Technicians; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies