Serosurvey of hepatitis A virus and E virus infection among municipal sweepers working in the largest city in the south of Iran

Abstract

Background Given the importance of Hepatitis A (HAV) and Hepatitis E (HEV) infection in careers like street sweeping, this study was conducted to determine the exposure rate in urban solid waste collectors/sweepers in the south of Iran. Materials and methods In this cross-sectional study, the sera samples of 385 waste collectors/sweepers from all districts of Shiraz, southern Iran, were collected. A questionnaire was used to gather data on their demographic and occupational characteristics, as well as their awareness of viral hepatitis disease. The rate of HAV and HEV sero-prevalence was determined by commercial ELISA kits. Results All partisans were male with a mean age of 41 ± 8 years. ELISA assay showed that all of participants were positive for anti-HAV Ab. Moreover, 62out of 385 (16.1%) subjects were positive for anti-HEV IgG Ab. Also, statistical analysis showed that the frequency of IgG Ab against HEV among the age group of 20–30, 31–40, 41–50 and over 50 years old was 4.5%, 10.1%, 17.4%, and 36.7% that was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Based on the work experience, current and previous jobs, residency, personal hygiene and knowledge status of hepatitis disease and transmission, the results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between anti-HEV positive and negative sweepers (p˃0.05). Conclusion Our results indicated that the frequency of anti-HAV and HEV IgG among sweepers is slightly higher than the normal population; it does not seem that garbage collecting/sweeping career could be a significant risk factor for HAV and HEV infection.