Infectious diseases among waste handlers and its relation to their work ability, Minia city, Egypt

Background: Waste handlers serve a crucial role in ensuring community health and hygiene. Their occupation, however, exposes them to a variety of hazards, while little or no attention is devoted to their health situation. The aim of this study is to detect the prevalence of certain infectious diseases among Minia waste collectors and explore its relation to their work ability. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was employed to gather information about the demographics, occupational characteristics, work ability index and collecting blood samples for detection of multiple blood borne and food borne diseases of 310 waste collectors who participated in face-to-face interviews. Results: the prevalence of HCV, HBV, HAV, HIV and typhoid were 13%, 0.9%, 0%, 0% and 0.43% respectively. HCV positive tests were significantly associated with lower educational levels (17.3%), longer work duration (19.6%) and frequent exposure to medical waste (15.9%) and sharp injury (25.5%). Work ability scores in positive HCV workers wasn’t significantly decreased (41.8 ± 4.5) and absenteeism (13.5%) and hindrance (11.3%) weren’t affected too. Conclusion: the study highlighted multiple infectious diseases and their possible risk factors and consequences thus emphasizing the role of educating and informing workers about the appropriate protective equipment to be used, as well as how to prevent infection and reinfection by various pathogens.