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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on October 28, 2009
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp120
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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine 2009.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Short Report

Laboratory worker knowledge, attitudes and practices towards smallpox vaccine

Noelle Benzekri1,2,5, Erinn Goldman1,2, Felicia Lewis3, Carolyn C. Johnson3, Stanley M. Reynolds4, Mary G. Reynolds1 and Inger K. Damon1

1 Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
2 Office of Workforce and Career Development, Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
3 The Division of Disease Control, Philadelphia Department of Health, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USA
4 Bureau of Laboratories, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Lionville, PA 19341, USA
5 Present address: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-9820, USA

Background Recent cases of laboratory-acquired vaccinia virus (VV) infection highlight the need for laboratory safety.

Aims To determine laboratory worker adherence to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices smallpox vaccination recommendations, assess potential barriers to vaccination and determine the influence of training on laboratory worker attitudes.

Methods Ninety-two laboratory workers in Pennsylvania were contacted and asked to complete an online survey about VV usage; 45 responded.

Results Eighty-seven per cent had received a smallpox vaccination in their lifetime; 73% received vaccination in the past 10 years. More workers had been given training regarding the potential risks, versus the potential benefits of vaccination, and most perceived that adverse outcomes were more likely to occur following vaccination versus accidental infection.

Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the main barrier to vaccination may be fear associated with possible vaccine adverse effects and a willingness to risk accidental infection rather than be vaccinated. More information and training about the potential benefits of vaccination, as well as the potential adverse outcomes associated with accidental infection, is therefore warranted.

Keywords      Knowledge attitudes and practices; smallpox vaccine; vaccinia virus; WR-vaccinia

Correspondence to: Mary G. Reynolds, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road North East, Mail-stop G-43, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Tel: +1 404 639 2867; Fax: +1 404 639 1060; e-mail: nzr6{at}cdc.gov


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