ID Screen Recommendations
Infectious Disease Screening and Vaccination
UCC Infectious Disease Screening and Vaccination Policy
Students* on certain courses with a placement in a clinical setting are subject to the UCC ID Screening and Immunisation Policy.
Students on certain courses must attend UCC Student Health Department for Infectious Disease Clearance.
Infectious Diseases Screening and Vaccination Policy
*The School of Nursing and Midwifery1. is subject to HSE Occupational Health policy and procedures.
The Table below summarises the recommendations2 contained within the policy.
| Infectious Disease(s) | Vaccine | Recommendation | Recommended minimum no. of doses and minimum dosing intervals |
Clearance or Immunity Standard | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hepatitis B | Engerix | Vaccination Strongly Recommended2 |
|
Anti HBs level ≥10mIU/ml |
|||||||||
| Measles Mumps Rubella |
MMR | Vaccination Strongly Recommended2 | MMR 2 doses, 4 weeks apart |
Documentation of 2 doses of MMR5,6 |
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| Chicken Pox (Varicella) | Varivax | Vaccination Strongly Recommended2 | Varivax 2 Doses, 4-8 weeks apart |
Written confirmation from Documentation of completed course of Varicella Vaccine OR VZ IgG serology positive |
|||||||||
| Tuberculosis | BCG7 | BCG Vaccine not required |
Students should be TB Screened and cleared prior to attending on placement. | TB Screening is Negative for active TB. | |||||||||
| Exposure Prone Procedure (EPP) Clearance | - | All students on programmes9 which involve students undertaking EPPs to be screened to confirm they are non-infectious with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. | EPP Blood Test undertaken before students can undertake EPPs | Hep B and Hep C non-infectivity confirmed using Identified Validated Standard Sample undertaken only in UCC Student Health Department4 |
NOTES
1. This table does not apply to UCC Nursing and Midwifery students. These students are subject to HSE policy.
2. Vaccinations recommended as per the National Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland (Healthcare settings, Chapter 4). Students who decline vaccination or are unable to achieve and sustain adequate levels of immunity may be unable to undertake placements in certain settings such as augmented care units. This may prevent them acquiring the core competencies required to graduate from their programme and the student may be required to transfer to an alternative exit degree programme.
3. Lifelong immunity is deemed to have been attained if an anti HBs levels of ≥10mIU/ml is achieved following the recommended schedule for healthcare workers.
4. Identity Validated Sample Standard requires the student to provide Photo ID at time of blood sampling, and that the sample is taken and processed by the UCC Student Health Department.
5. Individuals born on or before 31/12/1978 are considered to be clinically immune to each of Measles Mumps and Rubella by virtue of likely prior exposure to the wild virus. Evidence of immunity for individuals born since 1978 is documented evidence of 2 doses of MMR, or documented evidence of having previously suffered clinical measles, mumps and rubella. In the absence of this evidence the student should be vaccinated with a lifetime total of 2 doses of MMR.
6. Students who believe they have definitely had 2 doses of MMR and who are unable to provide documentation may undergo serology testing for MMR IgG titres. Only Measles and Rubella IgG positive status are considered reliable predictors of immunity to these infections. Mumps IgG serology is not a reliable predictor of immunity to Mumps. Where any of MMR IgG serology is negative or equivocal, or in an MMR outbreak situation, vaccination of at least 2 lifetime doses of MMR is recommended.
7. BCG is not part of the routine control of Tuberculosis in some countries, e.g. US and Canada.
8. The accelerated schedule for Hep B vaccination is used only where a student is likely to be undertaking an Exposure Prone Procedure within 6 months of registration.
9. Programmes involving EPPs are Medicine, Paramedic studies, Dentistry, Dental Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Speech and Language Therapy.