Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of occupational accidents and self-reported attitude of health-care workers (HCWs) in Serbia. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in selected departments of five tertiary care hospitals and in one secondary care hospital in February 2012. A previously developed self-administered questionnaire was provided to HCWs who had direct daily contact with patients. χ² test and Student's t test were used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: Of the 1,441 potential participants, 983 (68.2%) completed the questionnaire: 655 (66.7%) were nurses/medical technicians, 243 (24.7%) were physicians and 85 (8.6%) were other personnel. Of the 983 participants, 291 (29.6%) HCWs had had at least one accident during the previous year and 106 (40.2%) of them reported it to the responsible person. The highest prevalence (68.6%) of accidents was among nurses/technicians (p = 0.001). Accidents occurred more often in large clinical centers (81.1%; p < 0.001) and in the clinical ward, intensive care unit and operating theater (p = 0.003) than in other departments. Seventy-six (13.1%) nurses/medical technicians had an accident during needle recapping (p < 0.001). Of all the HCWs, 550 (55.9%) were fully vaccinated, including significantly more doctors (154, 63.4%) than participants from other job categories (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There was a relatively high rate of accidents among HCWs in our hospitals, most commonly amongst nurses and staff working in clinical wards, intensive care units and operating theaters. The most common types of accidents were needlestick injuries and accidents due to improper handling of contaminated sharp devices or occuring while cleaning instruments or by coming into contact with blood through damaged skin or through the conjunctiva/mucous membranes.

Introduction. Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids is a serious concern of health care workers and presents a major risk of transmission of infections such as human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and circumstances of occupational blood and body fluid exposures among health care workers. Methods. Cross-sectional study was conducted in three university hospitals in Belgrade. Anonymous questionnaire was used containing data about demographic characteristics, self-reported blood and body fluid exposures and circumstances of percutaneous injuries. Results. Questionnaire was filled in and returned by 216 health care workers (78.2% of nurses and 21.8% of doctors). 60.6% of participants-health care workers had sustained at least one needlestick injury during their professional practice; 25.9% of them in the last 12 months. Of occupational groups, nurses had higher risk to experience needlestick injuries than doctors (p=0.05). The majority of the exposures occurred in the operating theatre (p=0.001). Among factors contributing to the occurrence of needlestick injuries, recapping needles (p=0.003) and decontamination/cleaning instruments after surgery (p=0.001) were more frequent among nurses, while use of a needle before intervention was common among doctors (p=0.004). Only 41.2% of health care workers had reported their injuries to a supervisor in order to obtain medical attention. 50.2% of health care workers were vaccinated with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusion. There is a high rate of needlestick injuries in the daily hospital routine. Implementation of safety devices would lead to improvement in health and safety of medical staff.

Toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed parasitic zoonosis, affecting approximately one third of the human population. Epidemiological studies on toxoplasmosis conducted in Serbia so far have been focused on women of childbearing age, without a clear insight into the prevalence in the general population. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of the healthy adult population consisting of 1095 blood donors of both genders to establish the prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection. Data on the demographic and clinical characteristics of all study participants, as well as on their lifestyle habits, were collected by means of a questionnaire. The overall prevalence of infection was 20.5% (224/1095) and the avidity of the specific IgG antibodies detected was high in a vast majority of the seropositive donors (98.2%). Interestingly, the remaining 1.8% of the specific IgG positive samples were of borderline avidity (4/224), in complete absence of specific IgM. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that independent risk factors included age (from OR (95% CI) 1.9 (1.13–3.28) in the 30–39 age group, to 6.8 (3.27–14.24) in the age group of >60 years), suburban living (OR (95% CI) 2.2 (1.43–3.34)) and contact with soil (OR (95% CI) 1.4 (1.01–1.94)). This first large-scale study on toxoplasmosis in the general population in Serbia shows the lowest prevalence ever reported in this country. Moreover, the novel perspective on risk factors provides an updated basis for future prevention programs.