Recommendations for follow-up of health-care workers after occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease in the United States and worldwide. At least 85% of persons with HCV infection become chronically infected, and chronic liver disease with persistently elevated liver enzymes develops in approximately 70% of all HCV-infected persons. Persons with chronic hepatitis C are at risk for cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Most HCV transmission is associated with direct percutaneous exposure to blood. Health-care workers (HCWs) are at occupational risk for acquiring this viral infection. However, no vaccine is available to prevent hepatitis C, and immune globulin is not recommended for postexposure prophylaxis.