Hepatitis C virus positive healthcare personnel is prohibited of invasive medical interventions by law in Hungary: is it necessary?

Background: 18/1998. (VI.3.) Health Minister's decree prohibits Hepatitis-C-Virus-(HCV) – PCR positive medical professionals from performing any invasive medical intervention that is widely debated within the medical society but it is strongly supported by law professionals. Aim: We would like to draw attention to the decree, to discuss it in detail and to list relevant pros and contras. Results: The prevalence of anti-HCV IgG -positivity is 0.7–1% in the whole population and it is 2.4% in the medical staff in Hungary. Based on the recommendation of CDC/1998 it is not necessary to limit professional activities i…