Patient-to-Patient Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Associated with Oral Surgery

We used molecular epidemiologic techniques to document patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) between 2 outpatient oral surgery patients operated on 161 min apart. Serological testing of 25 (93%) of 27 patients operated on after the source patient revealed that 19 (76%) of 25 were previously immune to HBV; no additional cases were identified.We found no deficiencies in infection control practices. Transmission may have been limited by the high prevalence (64%) of patients vaccinated against HBV. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of patient-to-patient transmission of a bloodborne pathogen in a dental setting in the United States.