Seroepidemiology of herpes virus infections among dental personnel.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the possible occupational hazard of infection with human herpes viruses among dental personnel.


METHODS
Sera from 81 preclinical dental students, 53 clinical dental students and 103 qualified dental surgeons were tested for antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6). The same number of control subjects, matched individually for age (+/- 1 year), sex and social class, was also examined. Antibodies were detected by ELISA for HSV-1, latex agglutination for CMV, indirect immunofluorescence with P3HR1 cells for EBV and indirect immunofluorescence with infected JJhan cells for HHV-6. Each participant also completed a questionnaire to permit correlation of demographic data and risk factors with serological results.


RESULTS
No significant difference in seroprevalence was detected between any of the dental groups and their respective controls. There was a significantly higher prevalence of antibodies to EBV among clinical students (P = 0.02) and qualified dentists (P = 0.0003) than among preclinical students. These significant increases were not mirrored in the three corresponding control groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest a possible occupational risk of infection with EBV in dentists. There was no evidence for a significant risk of occupational infection with HSV-1, CMV or HHV-6.
Department of Oral Surgery, Medicine and Pathology, Cardiff Dental School, UK.
A M
AM
Herbert
J
J
Bagg
D M
DM
Walker
K J
KJ
Davies
D
D
Westmoreland
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D003815:Dentists; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012923:Social Class; D013335:Students, Dental; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral