Assessing the Seroprevalence of and Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Among Dental Health Professionals in the Country of Georgia, 2023.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 2026, v. 33, no. 2: Assessing the Seroprevalence of and Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Among Dental Health Professionals in the Country of Georgia, 2023.
• Journal Article:
  Journal of Viral Hepatitis
• Personal Author:
  Karichashvili, Lika ; Shadaker, Shaun ; Schumacher, Irina Tskhomelidze ; Tsereteli, Maia ; Alkhazashvili, Maia ; Chitadze, Nazibrola ; Surguladz, Sophia ; Merabishvili, Tsira ; Khoperia, Anna ; Averhoff, Francisco ; Cloherty, Gavin ; Gogilashvili, Ketevan ; Alkhanishvili, Zurab ; Tohme, Rania A.
• Description:
  Dental health professionals (DHPs) are at risk for bloodborne viruses. We evaluated hepatitis B and hepatitis C seroprevalence and knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding viral hepatitis in Georgia. We randomly selected 214 dental facilities. DHPs underwent face-to-face interviews and provided blood samples. High knowledge and practice were defined as correctly responding to 70% or more of the questions. Samples were tested for antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and, if reactive, for HCV RNA; total hepatitis B core antibodies (anti-HBc) and, if reactive, for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Specimens reactive for HBsAg were tested for antibody to hepatitis D virus (anti-HDV). Among 519 participants, 6.6% and 7.9% correctly identified all HBV and HCV transmission modes, respectively. Approximately half had high knowledge scores for hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Nurses had lower odds than dentists to have high scores. While 56% agreed that the hepatitis B vaccine is essential for healthcare workers, only 23.9% reported being vaccinated. Overall, 89.4% had high practice scores; 41.6% experienced a blood splash on their face, 43.7% a needle-stick injury and 20.6% an injury with a contaminated instrument. Practice scores were lower among those who had not been screened or vaccinated for hepatitis B. Among 517 blood samples tested, 0.8% were anti-HCV reactive, but none had detectable HCV RNA; 12.2% were anti-HBc reactive and 0.6% were HBsAg reactive. None tested reactive for anti-HDV. Enhanced training and policy reforms are critical to improve hepatitis knowledge, vaccination uptake and infection control practices among DHPs in Georgia.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Hepatitis C
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Hepatitis B
  • Male
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Georgia (Republic)
  • Adult
  • Middle Aged
  More +
• Keywords:
  • dental health professionals
  • Georgia
  • hepatitis B
  • hepatitis C
  • KAP
  • knowledge and attitudes
• Source:
  Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 2026, v. 33, no. 2
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1111/jvh.70126
• ISSN:
  1352-0504 ; 1365-2893
• Pubmed ID:
  41454735
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12824833
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; GH20-2130/US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Pages in Document:
  e70126 (22 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  33
• Issue:
  2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260875/cdc_260875_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 515.42 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d0a054b39a063ab7bd016e23969ba78fa16c0aa3db63f2b7516bb44f1b3211ca099d993f20293a9c0ac5e30f18567a10acaa04841b576aaa3470550e09b0d910