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Workforce & wellbeing
How common are blood-borne infections in first responders
Pooled prevalence of infectious diseases among first responders in the prehospital setting: A systematic review with meta-analysis by occupation
Prehospital Emergency Care · 2026-11-10 · Added 12 November 2026
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 studies covering 19,188 prehospital first responders estimated pooled infection prevalence — hepatitis B 6.2%, hepatitis C 1.8%, MRSA colonisation about 4%, and COVID-19 13.6% in unvaccinated staff.
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Design
- Systematic review with random-effects meta-analysis (88 full texts screened, 22 studies included)
- Participants
- 19,188 first responders across 22 studies
- Main finding
- Pooled prevalence: hepatitis B 6.2% (95% CI 4.5–8.2), hepatitis C 1.8% (0.9–2.9), MRSA colonisation ~4% (2.6–5.9), COVID-19 among unvaccinated staff 13.6% (4.8–25.9), falling to 7.3% after excluding high-bias studies
- Caveat
- Very high heterogeneity across the 22 studies, and the pooled estimates mix paramedics with police and firefighters
- Bottom line
- Supports current practice
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Occupational exposure risk is the same in uncontrolled prehospital environments everywhere — this is the evidence base behind PPE, vaccination and infection-control protocols Australian crews already work under.
Learning goal
Understand how occupational exposure risks for blood-borne infections shape my infection prevention and vaccination practice.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 12 November 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 12 November 2026
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