Letters to the editor / American Journal of Infection Control 42 (2014) 85-90 5. Andriatahina T, Randrianirina F, Hariniana ER, Talarmin A, Raobijaona H, Buisson Y, et al. High prevalence of fecal carriage of exended-spectrum b-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia in a pediatric unit in Madagascar. BMC Infect Dis 2010;10:204. 6. Schoevaerdts D, Verroken A, Huang TD, Frennet M, Berhin C, Jamart J, et al. Multidrug-resistant bacteria colonization amongst patients newly admitted to a geriatric unit: a prospective cohort study. J Infect 2012;65:109-18. 7. Guillet M, Bille E, Lecuyer H, Taieb F, Masse V, Lanternier F, et al. Epidemiology of patients harboring extended-spectrum b-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLE), on admission. Med Mal Infect 2010;40:632-6. 8. Kader A, Kumar A, Kamath K. Fecal carriage of extended-spectrum b-lactamaseproducing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in patients and asymptomatic healthy individuals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2007;28:1114-6. Conflicts of interest: None to report.

Mouna Tarchouna Asma Ferjani, PhD* Microbiology and Immunology Department UR02SP13, CHU Farhat Hached Sousse, Tunisia Semia Tilouche, MD Pediatric Department CHU Farhat Hached Sousse, Tunisia Manel Marzouk, MD Microbiology and Immunology Department UR02SP13, CHU Farhat Hached Sousse, Tunisia Jihène Bouguila, MD Lamia Boughamoura Pediatric Department, CHU Farhat Hached Sousse, Tunisia Jalel Boukadida Microbiology and Immunology Department UR02SP13, CHU Farhat Hached Sousse, Tunisia * Address correspondence to Asma Ferjani, PhD, Microbiology, and Immunology Department, UR02SP13, CHU Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Ferjani). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.07.008

Seroprevalence of hepatitis A and B viruses in medical school students planning for medical clerkships To the Editor: Medical school students have the potential to come in contact with patients carrying contagious diseases.1 Students exposed to needles during clinical activities are at an increased risk of needlestick injury, which could lead to bloodborne infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus or diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.2 Therefore, immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases is very important, especially for medical school students entering their clerkship. At Wonkwang University Medical School, nursing and medical students planning for their clerkship were tested for seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and HBV since 2012. The serologic tests for HAV and

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Table 1 Seroprevalence of anti-HBs and anti-HAV IgG among medical school students planning for medical clerkships Age, y (%) 20-23

24-25

26-28

29þ

Total

Anti-HBs 120/188 (63.8) 30/43 (69.8) 16/19 (84.2) 9/10 (90) 175/260 (67.3) positive HAV IgG 21/188 (11.2) 3/43 (7) 2/19 (10.1) 3/10 (30) 29/260 (11.1) positive

P value .114 .226

anti-HBs, anti-hepatitis B virus surface antibody; HAV, hepatitis A virus; IgG, immunoglobulin G.

HBV included anti-HAV immunoglobulin (Ig) G, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and anti-HBs. We retrospectively collected the results of the students’ serologic tests that were assessed on 2 separate occasions between 2012 and 2013. A total of 260 medical school students was enrolled in our study; wherein, 106 students were tested in 2012 and the remaining 154 students were tested in 2013. The participants included 157 (60.4%) female students and 103 (39.6%) male students; 52.7% (137/260) were medical students. The mean age of the students was 22.8
2.5 years (range, 20-36 years). Table 1 presents the anti-HAV IgG and anti-HBs seroprevalence of the 260 students. Among them, 175 (67.3%) students had an anti-HBs titer of >10.0 mIU/mL (positive) and 85 (32.7%) had an anti-HBs titer of 30 years but low in those aged