title: Pattern of Hepatitis A Virus Epidemiology in Nursing Students and Adherence to Preventive Measures at Two Training Wards of a University Hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nursing students can be exposed to patients with hepatitis A virus (HAV) and can represent a vehicle of transmission both for health personnel, patients and relatives.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the risk of HAV infection in nursing students during their internship.
  
  
  METHODS
  A seroprevalence survey on HAV infection was performed on nursing students at the Cagliari university-hospital, together with the assessment of the compliance to preventive measures to decrease the risk of infection during their internship. Blood specimens were obtained from 253 students. All serum samples were tested for anti-HAV antibodies (IgG) by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compliance to preventive measures was recorded by trained personnel.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall HAV seropositivity in nursing students (mean age 24, range 17 - 45 years) was 3%. Compliance to preventive measures was not uniform (6% - 76%) and extremely low in some specific measures targeted to decrease the oral-fecal transmission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high proportion of susceptible nursing students can contribute to an increase in the risk of nosocomial transmission, especially when specific preventive measures are not completely applied. Nursing education packages, before starting medical internship, should be implemented in order to increase their compliance to preventive measures, especially in wards at higher risk. Vaccination should be considered in wards at higher risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campagna
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maria Mereu
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Policlinico Universitario, Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mulas
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pilia
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Francesca Piazza
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spada
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Portoghese
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galletta
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masia
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Colorectal Surgery Center, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Restivo
authors.affiliation: Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department, Pain Therapy Service, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mura
authors.affiliation: Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department, Pain Therapy Service, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Finco
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cristina Coppola
keywords: Epidemiology; Hepatitis A; Nursing Students; Preventive Measures; herd immunity