Healthcare System Urged to Vaccinate Workers

Widespread vaccination programs should be introduced for all health care workers and backed by the WHO, according to an infectious disease expert from Mexico City.

Describing health care as "a very risky activity," Dr. Samuel Ponce de Leon said that death and disease among personnel can have serious consequences for systems that are already short of important resources.

"Health care workers are an endangered species and a very reluctant one to be protected. A total of 57 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa but also some Asian countries, face crippling health care worker shortages.

"Every health system, hospital, institute and outpatient clinic, private or public, should establish a program to vaccinate all health care workers a s part of a comprehensive health care program," he said, adding that "the WHO should establish obligatory regulation to protect health care workers."

Hepatitis B, influenza, measles, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria - just some of the disease faced by health care workers - should form the very minimum components of vaccination programs, according to Ponce de Leon.

Workers risk catching a wide range of infectious disease from their patients if they are not vaccinated, and can be responsible for passing these on to other patients, health care workers and the community at large.

Compliance with health care worker vaccination schemes is typically poor, he said, suggesting that poor communication and lack of knowledge are typically responsible. Workers may also be reluctant to give up their time, have a fear of needles, or perceive vaccination as dangerous or unnecessary.

"Health care workers should be clear that compliance [with vaccination] is an ethical duty," he said.

Despite the obstacles, vaccine uptake can be successfully promoted said Ponce de Leon, citing the example of a hospital campaign in Korea which boosted influenza vaccination rates among workers from 27 to 52 percent. [Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2006 Jun;27(6):612-7]

Beyond the basic schedule, vaccination programs could be extended to include hepatitis A, varicella and pneumoccocus, he said.

He added that avian influenza is also an area to consider but several issues remain unresolved as to what the best vaccine is and when the best to use it.