Figure 2-10. Estimated number of occupational hepatitis B infections among U.S. health care workers, 1983-1999.Hepatitis B infections include symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) indicates a 96% decline in hepatitis B viral infections among health care workers over a 17-year period-from nearly 11,000 cases in 1983 to fewer than 400 in 1999. (Note: In the mid-1980s, health care facilities began adopting recommended universal precautions against exposure to body fluids. These were followed in 1992 with the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard [29 CFR* 1910.1030], which required employers to offer hepatitis B vaccinations to exposed workers.)
(Source: CDC [2002a].)
