Needlestick and Sharp Injuries Prevalence and Hepatitis B Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers: A cross sectional study in Six District Hospitals (Yaounde, Cameroon)

Introduction Accidental exposure to blood and body fluids (AEB) in the workplace account for 40 % of contamination by hepatis B virus (HBV) and 2 – 3 % by HIV among healthcare workers (HCW). Developing countries are most affected. The present study sought to determine the prevalence of percutaneous injury and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among HCW. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to April 2022 in six district hospitals in Yaounde using a self - administered questionnaire. Out of the 279 HCW who were solicited, 217 returned completed questionnaires. Results More than half of HCW reported an AEB in the last 12 months (53,9 %). The prevalence of AEB varied among hospitals with the Nkolndongo DH reporting the highest prevalence (51.6 %). Healthcare workers were unvaccinated (53 %) or partially vaccinated against HBV (13,2 %); only one third were fully vaccinated (33,9 %). The lowest compliance with vaccination was observed among hygiene personnel (90 %). The high cost of the vaccine was the main reported reason for non - compliance (39 %). Conclusion There is an urgent need to set up a monitoring system for the implementation of infection control and prevention in District Hospitals in Cameroon in order to raise awareness of AEB burden among healthcare workers and improve accessibility to HBV vaccine. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The protocol was approved by the Regional Human Health Committee of the Centre (CRERSH - Ce) with the ethical clearance: CE N° 2245/CRERSHC/2021. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors