Hepatitis C: risk in healthcare workers pre 2007 clearance review
An evaluation of the 2007 Department of Health policy on hepatitis C virus clearance for healthcare workers (HCWs) performing exposure prone procedures (EPPs).
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This content was originally produced by Public Health England.
This content is now owned and managed by the UK Health Security Agency and is under review.
United Kingdom Advisory Panel for Healthcare Workers Living with Bloodborne Viruses (UKAP) prepared this report as supporting evidence to recommend the Chief Medical Officers of the 4 countries in the UK with concerns over the hepatitis C risk among HCWs:
- performing EPPs in the UK
- employed before 2007 (preceding the Department of Health’s 2007 guidance Health clearance for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV: new healthcare workers)
UKAP demonstrated no evidence, at that point in time, of transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from HCW to patient since 2007, although the possibility of undetected transmission events could not be ruled out.
UKAP recommended that the 2007 health clearance guidance should not be amended to include the pre-2007 cohort.