I am a 25-year-old adult. I visited a hepatologist, and while entering the doctor’s room, I opened the door by holding the doorknob with my bare hand. The doctor advised me to do two blood tests: HBsAg and anti-HBc (total).
About one hour later, when I went to give the blood sample, after the test was finished, a small amount of blood was oozing from the needle puncture site. I wiped that blood with the same bare hand and applied light pressure for a few seconds (around 5 seconds) to stop the bleeding.
After leaving the doctor’s room, I used my phone for a while, touched some cash, and handled a few papers before going for the blood test.
Now I am feeling anxious and having OCD-type thoughts that if there was any virus on the doorknob, and then I touched my own blood, could this be a risky exposure? There was no visible blood on the doorknob, and there was no visible blood on my hand when I touched it, but I am still worried because it was a hepatologist’s room and I’m afraid there could have been invisible blood contamination.
The next day, all my test results came back negative. I also started the Hepatitis B vaccination four days after this incident, but I did not take HBIG. Based on this situation, am I safe?
Hi @Perfect_Match
I am a senior HBV researcher with 30+ years studying the virus. Please do not worry about this. The chances of HBV transmission are vanishingly low under these conditions.
The probability that there was any HBV at all on the doorknobs is exceptionally low. To have HBV there it would have required an HBV+ person to bleed on it and then the office staff not to have cleaned up the blood. Physician’s offices are very careful to clean up potential infectious hazards, so it is nearly certain that there was no HBV on any of the doorknobs. Second, your finger prick had clotted by the time you touched the 2nd doorknob, so there was no access to fresh blood. Third, even if there were HBV on the doorknob, the likelihood that it was there in high enough levels to infect someone is extraordinarily low.
HBV really doesn’t transmit under these sorts of conditions.
I hope this helps.
John.
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I am not a doctor. I think your doctor ordered the blood tests because the doctor wanted to know your status, and not because you touched the doorknob. If the doorknob of the doctor’s room is infectious, there would be a warning sign, or it would be cleaned regularly. It is appropriate to get tested prior to a HBV vaccination.
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@john.tavis Thank you for the clear explanation and reassurance. Coming from a senior HBV researcher, this is very comforting.
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