SERO-PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS AMONG DENTAL CLINIC WORKERS IN SANA’A CITY- YEMEN AND THE RISK FACTORS CONTRIBUTING FOR ITS INFECTION

Objectives: Dental clinic workers (DCWs) in Yemen have an additional risk of getting infected with HCV from their work place and till now there is no study in prevalence of HCV infection and associated risk factors among DCWs. The purposes of this survey were to evaluate what proportion of dentists and dental assistants had serological evidence of current or previous HCV infection, what were their risk factors for exposure, and what was the frequency of use and effectiveness of barrier methods to prevent HCV infection. Methods: Data were acquired from a cross sectional survey conducted among DCWs in 2014 at the Faculty of Dentistry, Sana’a University, in Sana'a city. A proportionate to size random sample was drawn per DCW category. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data about socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors. ELISA was used to test sera for HCV antibodies.  Results: The study included 246 dentists and 263 dental assistants; the sero-prevalence of current hepatitis C virus infection was 1.6%. Prevalence of needle stick injuries, exposure to skin and to mucous membranes were 45.6%, 26.5% and 25.3% respectively. Cuts were also common with 41.1% of participants reporting a cut in a period of one year preceding the survey. There was a highly significant associated with risk of HCV infection with needle stick injuries (OR=8.6, P=0.01, cuts (OR=4.4, P=0.04), contact with blood/saliva in skin (OR=20.8, P<0.001). But longer duration in service was not significantly associated with risk of infection (OR=2, P value=0.34).  Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of HCV infection was high among Yemeni DCWs and eexposure to potentially infectious body fluids was high which might lead to high rate of transmit HCV to DCWs, therefore ensures a safer work environment is important in control and prevention of HCV in DCWs in Yemen.                 Peer Review History: Received 5 September 2017;   Revised 9 October; Accepted 1 November, Available online 15 November 2017 Academic Editor: Dr. Ali Abdullah Al-yahawi, Al-Razi university, Department of Pharmacy, Yemen, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:        Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.5/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Razan Hani Amin Haddad, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan, [email protected] Dr. Tanveer Ahmed Khan, Hajvery University, Lahore, Pakistan, [email protected] Similar Articles: SERO-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEPATITIS B, C, HIV AND TREPONEMA PALLIDUM AMONG BLOOD DONORS IN HODEIDA CITY- YEMEN  PREVALENCE AND GENOTYPING OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS IN HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS AND EVALUATION OF HCV-CORE ANTIGEN TEST IN SCREENING PATIENTS FOR DIALYSIS IN SANA'A CITY, YEME

ORAL C. ALBICANS COLONIZATION AND NON-CANDIDA ALBICANS CANDIDA COLONIZATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, YEMEN

Objectives: Candida albicans is diploid yeast that in some circumstances may cause oral or oropharyngeal infections. This investigation aimed to study the oral C. albicans colonization (OCC) and Non-Candida albicans Candida colonization (ONCACC) and risk factors of OCC in healthy University students.   Methods: This cross sectional laboratory study was carried between January 2014 and July 2014. A total of 265 healthy students were included in this study, 131 males and 134 females. Demographic and clinical and risk factor variables were registered in predesigned questionnaire. Standard methods were used for collection oral specimens, culturing and identifying Candida species. Results: The crude rate of OCC was 17.7% and the crude rate of ONCACC was 29.1%. C. tropicalis and C. glabrata were the most common species isolated after C. albicans. Statistically significant association of OCC (< 0.05), was identified between the gender (male) (OR=3.7), smoking (OR=14.6), denture wearing (OR=6.2), dental bridge (OR=5.4), orthodontics (OR=2.5), the reduced saliva flow rate (OR=11.3), previous antibiotics users (OR=2.99), and Qat chewers (OR=5.2). Conclusion: Current study results are important for the development of strategies to eliminate these indicators of risk and significantly reduce Candida species colonization and oral Candida infections in young healthy adults and in general in Yemen community. The data also suggests that the prevalence rate of OCC was relatively high and it was affected by presence of prostheses, orthodontics, behaviors, xerostomia certain sociodemographic characteristics, which indicate the need for comprehensive, scheduled programs of healthcare educations. Peer Review History: Received 5 October 2017;   Revised 29 October; Accepted 4 November, Available online 15 November 2017 Academic Editor: Dr. Amany Mohamed Alboghdadly, Princess Nourah bint abdulrahman university, Riyadh, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:        Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.5/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Heba-Tallah Ahmed  Mohamed Moustafa, Heliopolis University Cairo, Egypt, [email protected] Noha El Baghdady, MTI University, Cairo, Egypt, [email protected] Similar Articles: PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF ORAL NON-CANDIDA ALBICANS CANDIDA CARRIAGE IN DENTURE WEARERS IN SANA'A CITY- YEME