The prevalence of hepatitis B virus markers in dental personnel in Singapore

A seroepidemiological survey of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers was conducted in a group of 693 dental personnel in Singapore where HBV infection is endemic. The overall prevalence of HBsAg (4·5%) and anti-HBc (29%) was no higher than that in the general population. However, dentists had a significantly higher HBsAg prevalence (11·4%) compared with that in the general population (4·2%) ( P < 0·01) and of other categories of dental personnel (3·1%) ( P < 0·001). Similarly, the anti-HBc prevalence of the dentists (45·6%) was significantly higher than that of the general population (29·7%) ( P < 0·01) and of other categories of dental personnel (25·7%) ( P < 0·0001). It appears that dentists in the endemic area have a definite occupational risk of acquiring HBV infection.