Infection Control · patient case question
All of the following vaccines are recommended for healthcare personnel EXCEPT:
Patient case: Preparing the practice
demo: New associate dentist
chief: Reviewing the practice infection control and emergency protocols before starting clinical work.
history: The practice is updating its exposure control plan and its written office emergency procedures.
meds: Not applicable.
findings: The office manager asks a series of questions about immunisation, sterilisation monitoring, waste handling and the hierarchy of hazard controls.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Human papillomavirus vaccine
- A. Correct, and this is the exception. HPV vaccination is recommended on the basis of age, routinely through 26 years with shared decision making to 45, not because someone works in healthcare. It is not an occupational requirement.
- B. Hepatitis B vaccination with post-vaccination serologic testing is the cornerstone occupational vaccine for anyone with reasonably anticipated exposure to blood.
- C. Varicella vaccine, marketed as Varivax, is recommended for healthcare personnel without evidence of immunity, because a susceptible worker exposed to chickenpox or shingles can transmit infection to vulnerable patients.
- D. MMR is recommended for personnel lacking documented immunity. Measles and mumps outbreaks in healthcare settings are precisely why this is required.
Note: The recall listed an 'HIV vaccine' among the options. No licensed HIV vaccine exists, so it is not a real answer choice. The occupational core set is hepatitis B, influenza, MMR, varicella and Tdap, with meningococcal for microbiologists.
Practice Infection Control questions Infection Control study notes