Material Safety Data Sheet



                LABORATORY CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL



        MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET - INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES



                          SECTION I - INFECTIOUS AGENT



NAME: Hepatitis B virus





SYNONYM OR CROSS REFERENCE: Serum hepatitis, Type B hepatitis,

Homologous serum jaundice, Australia antigen hepatitis, HB



CHARACTERISTICS: double-stranded DNA, 42nm diameter, enveloped, Hepadna

virus, lipoprotein coat contains the HBsAg





                          SECTION II - HEALTH HAZARD



PATHOGENICITY: Onset is insidious with anorexia, vague abdominal discomfort,

nausea and vomiting, sometimes arthralcias and rash, often progressing to jaundice;

fever may be absent or mild; severity ranges from inapparent cases to fatal acute

hepatic necrosis; low short term case fatality rate in hospitalized patients; long term

case fatality rate is 2-3% due to cancer or cirrhosis of the liver



EPIDEMIOLOGY: Worldwide; endemic with little seasonal variation; commonly in

young adults in North America and in infancy or childhood in Africa and Asia; antigen

carrier rate in North America is under 1% for the general population and 10-15% in

Asia; common in high risk groups - drug abusers, persons in the health care field

exposed to blood or serous fluids, sexually promiscuous individuals



HOST RANGE: Man (chimpanzees are susceptible)



INFECTIOUS DOSE: Not known



MODE OF TRANSMISSION: Percutaneous or permucosal exposure to infectious body

fluids (blood, serum-derived fluids, saliva, semen, vaginal fluids); commonly spread by

contaminated needles, syringes and other IV equipment; contamination of wounds or

lacerations; exposure of mucous membranes; sexual contact









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INCUBATION PERIOD: Usually 45-180 days; average 60-90 days; HBsAg appears in

2 wks or rarely, 6-9 months, depending on dose, mode of transmission and host factors



COMMUNICABILITY: Blood can be infective weeks before onset of symptoms;

remains infective through clinical and chronic carrier states; infectivity of chronically

infected individuals varies from highly infectious to sparingly infectious





                           SECTION III - DISSEMINATION



RESERVOIR: Humans



ZOONOSIS: none



VECTORS: none



                               SECTION IV - VIABILITY



DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: No specific antivirals



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Susceptible to many disinfectants; 1%

sodium hypochlorite, 70% ethanol, 2% glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde



PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Stable at 37C for 60 min but not at temperatures above

60C; stable at pH 2.4 for up to 6 hours (infectivity is lost); HBsAg not destroyed by W

of blood products



SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Survives in dried blood for long periods (weeks)



                                SECTION V - MEDICAL



SURVEILLANCE: Testing of blood samples for the presence of HBsAg



FIRST AID/TREATMENT: No specific treatment



IMMUNIZATION: Inactivated vaccine is available and recommended for those of

increased risk such as laboratory workers and other health care workers exposed to

blood



PROPHYLAXIS: Hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG)









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                     SECTION VI - LABORATORY HAZARDS



LABORATORY-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS: The most frequently occurring

laboratory-associated infection; incidence in some categories of lab workers is 7 times

greater than that of the general population; 234 reported cases up to 1974 with one

death (3921 total infections surveyed); 26 reported cases in UK labs form 1980-1987



SOURCES/SPECIMENS: Blood and blood products, urine, semen, csf, and saliva



PRIMARY HAZARDS: Parenteral inoculation; droplet exposure of mucous

membranes; contact exposure of broken skin



SPECIAL HAZARDS: Needlestick with infected blood





                 SECTION VII - RECOMMENDED PRECAUTIONS



CONTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS: Biosafety level 2 practices and containment for

activities utilizing infectious body fluids and tissues; Biosafety level 3 primary

containment and personnel precautions for activities with high potential for droplet or

aerosol production and high production quantities or concentrations; Animal Biosafety

level 2 for work with nonhuman primates



PROTECTIVE CLOTHING: Laboratory coat; gloves when skin contact is unavoidable

and when working with animals; wrap-around gown and gloves for work in biosafety

cabinet



OTHER PRECAUTIONS: General needle safety precautions important - do not bend,

break or recap needles; dispose directly into puncture-proof container





                   SECTION VIII - HANDLING INFORMATION



SPILLS: Allow aerosols to settle; wearing protective clothing, gently cover spill with

absorbent paper towel and apply 1% sodium hypochlorite, starting at perimeter and

working way to centre; allow sufficient contact time (30 min) before clean up









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DISPOSAL: Decontaminate before disposal; steam sterilization, chemical disinfection,

incineration



STORAGE: In sealed containers that are appropriately labelled





                SECTION IX - MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION



Date prepared: Jan. 1993

                                                       Prepared by: Office of Biosafety

                                                                    LCDC



Although the information, opinions and recommendations contained in this Material

Safety Data Sheet are compiled from sources believed to be reliable, we accept no

responsibility for the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability or for any loss or injury

resulting from the use of the information. Newly discovered hazards are frequent and

this information may not be completely up to date.



                                    Copyright (C)

                    Minister of National Health and Welfare, 1989

                                       Canada









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