Two cases of accidental transmission of hepatitis C to medical staff

Abstract

Two medical doctors (a 38-year-old male and a 25-year-old female) were admitted to our department with jaundice. They had injured themselves with, respectively, a scalpel and a needle contaminated with anti-hepatitis C virus antibody-positive blood, at 2 and 1.5 months, respectively, prior to admission. They were both suffering from clinically typical acute hepatitis. The polymerase chain reaction showed that hepatitis C RNA and anti-hepatitis C virus antibody were transiently positive in the male doctor, while serum transaminase levels were transiently abnormal. In the female doctor, hepatitis C RNA was initially negative, but became strongly positive, and abnormal serum transaminase levels persisted. Interferon therapy resulted in the hepatitis C RNA's becoming negative again, and the transaminase levels returned to normal. The clinical and other findings strongly suggested that in both patients hepatitis C developed as a result of the respective in-hospital accidents.