| Summary: | Among health workers Hepatitis B is the most frequent occupational infection, and vaccination is the most effective way of preventing it. Risk of this infection is accentuated among student nurses, and we therefore sought to assess this population’s knowledge of Hepatitis B and the possibility of vaccination against it. To this end, we surveyed a total of 256 student nurses, using a questionnaire in which they were asked a series of questions addressing general aspects of Hepatitis B, knowledge of vaccines, and number of students immunized. Among the data gathered, mention should be made of the fact that students were generally aware that Hepatitis B was a parenterally and sexually transmitted disease, yet almost half of those surveyed failed to appreciate the professional danger of Hepatitis B vis-à-vis other types of hepatitis. In general, they were ignorant of the significance of serological markers. Moreover, a high percentage did not perceive Hepatitis B as an occupational disease.Only 52.7% of all interviewees were conversant with all the guidelines to be followed in the event of needle stick and, according to the results of survey, as few as 4.7% adopted adequate measures to prevent infection. Insofar as risk of infection was concerned, half of those surveyed considered that this was high among health professionals, yet only 49.6% considered that there was a high risk of infection in their practical classes despite the fact that 44.6% had already experienced one or more accidental exposures during such sessions. Most students were aware of the existence of Hepatitis B vaccine and regarded it as essential. A total of 86.7% of students had been appropriately vaccinated. Solely a minority replied that vaccination eliminated all risk of infection.
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