Evaluation of a Screening Initiative for Bloodborne Viruses Among Patients at Two Dental Centers in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, 2021–2022

Introduction – In France, health authorities have received several reports of hygiene violations in dental offices. This article describes the screening campaign for bloodborne viruses launched in response to an incident that occurred at two dental centers in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Method – The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regional Health Agency (ARS) informed patients and recommended that they be screened for hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It organized the collection of screening results. The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regional unit of Santé publique France analyzed the data and arranged for the positive samples to be sent to the National Reference Center (CNR) for Hepatitis B, C, and Delta for genotypic comparisons. Results – The overall screening rate was 25.8%. No patients tested positive for HIV; 7 patients tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies, of whom 1 was positive for HCV RNA (among the 4 patients with available results); 7 other patients were positive for the HBs antigen. The dates of dental care differed among positive patients who had visited the same dental center. The blood samples that could be compared by the CNR for HBV had different genotypes. Discussion – No viral transmission between patients was identified based on the partial results of the epidemiological and virological investigation. The various reported incidents suggest, on the one hand, the need to strengthen controls at dental centers to prevent or detect early breaches of hygiene measures, and, on the other hand, the need for a standard operating procedure to standardize and facilitate management by the ARS.

Author(s): Terrien Élodie, Delmas Emmanuel, Lot Florence, Soing Altrach Sophan, Brouard Cécile, Retel Olivier

Publishing year: 2024

Pages: 363-369

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2024, n° 16-17, p. 363-369

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