{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T08:05:35Z","timestamp":1791360335129,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,13]],"date-time":"2022-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663027200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Indeed, they are exposed to blood and body fluid which put them at an important risk of transmission of various blood borne pathogens including HCV. The goal of this study was to determine the magnitude of occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus infection as well as the factors associated to this exposure among HCWs at a Tunisian University Hospital in 2017.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir Governorate (Tunisia) from 01 June 2017 to 31 August 2017. Data were collected using an anonymous questionnaire. To determine factors associated with occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus infection, we performed multivariate analysis.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Among the 1493 included participants, more than half (56.7) had at least one exposure to blood or body fluid. A history of needle stick injury was reported by 48.3% of the respondents. Exposure to blood or body fluid splash into the face was announced by 32.1% HCWs. Doctors had the highest risk of exposure (AOR = 12.425; 95% CI: [05.310\u201329.075]). Participants working at surgical departments were the most exposed comparing to workers at others departments (AOR = 7.440; 95% CI: [4.461\u201312.408]). Two exposed female HCWs were tested positive corresponding to a HCV infection prevalence of 0.13% (95% IC: [0.11\u20130.16%]).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus infection was high at the university hospital of Monastir. Despite the low magnitude of HCV infection, preventive actions should be taken to promote the safety of health care personnel.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0274609","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,13]],"date-time":"2022-09-13T17:33:28Z","timestamp":1663090408000},"page":"e0274609","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus infection and associated factors among healthcare workers in Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Tunisia"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4153-9902","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Meriem","family":"Kacem","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wafa","family":"Dhouib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cyrine","family":"Bennasrallah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Imen","family":"Zemni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hela","family":"Abroug","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manel","family":"Ben Fredj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arwa","family":"Guedich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leila","family":"Safer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nissaf","family":"Ben Alaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maha","family":"Mastouri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ines","family":"Bouanene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asma","family":"Sriha Belguith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0274609.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7824","DOI":"10.3748\/wjg.v22.i34.7824","article-title":"Global epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection: An up-date of the distribution and circulation of hepatitis C virus genotypes","volume":"22","author":"A Petruzziello","year":"2016","journal-title":"World Journal of Gastroenterology"},{"key":"pone.0274609.ref002","article-title":"Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990\u20132013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013","journal-title":"Published 2015. 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