Hepatitis in undertakers

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Abstract
Of 106 undertakers, 6 (5.6%) gave a past history of hepatitis during their professional careers; this was no different from the frequency in a control group of 3162 accountants (5.1%) who had no direct contact with blood. None of the undertakers or 210 blood donors matched for age, sex and ethnic background had serum positive for hepatitis B surface antigen. Five undertakers (4.7%) had blood that was positive for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen, compared with 6 of 210 (2.9%) in the control group; this difference was not statistically significant (P > .25). Thus, undertakers appear to be a low-rick occupation with reference to acquisition of hepatitis B. Although the numbers are too small for statistical analysis, there appeared to be an increased exposure to hepatitis B in undertakers who take no preventive precautions. The minimal precautions for undertakers should be the wearing of gloves.