The exposure rate to hepatitis B and C viruses among medical waste handlers in three government hospitals, southern Ethiopia

Amsalu, Anteneh; Worku, Mesfin; Tadesse, Endale; Shimelis, Techalew

doi:10.4178/epih.e2016001

Cited by 29 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…More research is needed to understand the types of work contracts, i.e., daily worker, temporary, or permanent employees. The health surveillance of workers before commencing employment is a good opportunity to check their fitness and to provide appropriate vaccinations if needed [86,87].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

2018

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Healthcare waste (HCW) represents a major public health issue, especially in developing countries. Among HCW categories, sharps waste is one of the most hazardous. Exposure to needle-stick injuries can lead to blood-borne pathogens, therefore HCW should be managed in an effective manner. The main aims of this study were to assess the current management of used needles and to suggest suitable recommendations for an improved and safer system for needle management in Khartoum, Sudan. The study showed that the management of both healthcare and home-generated HCW in Sudan is inefficient, as all wastes are mixed together and disposed of improperly, especially used needles. The study attributes this to many reasons, including lack of waste segregation at the source, lack of policies, failure of planning, inadequate training, lack of awareness of the hazardous nature of such kinds of waste, weak infrastructure, and a lack of suitable treatment technologies. The estimated average generated rate of HCW ranged from 0.38 to 0.87 kg/bed/day in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Such ineffective healthcare waste management HCWM, especially used needles, can put public health as well as the environment at risk, particularly waste workers, thus urgent action needs to be taken by all involved parties and at all levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

2018

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“…HBV can also be transmitted via healthcare practices including handling medical waste [32], body piercing [33] and transfused blood products or haemodialysis originating from hepatitis B carriers [34]. Screening practices using HBV nucleic acid tests have decreased risk of transmission by blood transfusion; however, the potential for blood transmission from occult infection (i.e.…”

Section: Hepatitis B Virusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tumour virus epidemiology

Lunn

Jahnke

Rabkin

2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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A viral etiology of cancer was first demonstrated in 1911 by Peyton Rous who injected cell-free filtrate from a chicken sarcoma into healthy chickens and found it induced a tumour. Since the discovery over 50 years ago of the Epstein-Barr virus as the cause of Burkitt lymphoma, seven other human viruses or groups of viruses-hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus type 1, some human papillomaviruses, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and Merkel cell polyomavirus-have been linked to human cancer. Collectively, these eight viruses cause over 20 different types of cancer and contribute to 10-12% of all cancer, with a greater burden in low- and middle-income countries. For many viruses, immunosuppression greatly increases the risks of persistent infection, development of chronic sequelae and cancer. Although several viruses share similar routes of transmission (especially sexual activity, injection drug use and mother-to-child transmission), the predominant route of transmission varies across viruses, and for the same virus can vary by geographical location. In general, vulnerable populations at the greatest risk for viral infections and their associated diseases include people, especially children, living in low- to middle-income countries, men who have sex with men, people who use injection drugs and female sex workers.This article is part of the themed issue 'Human oncogenic viruses'.

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“…Most studies compared workers who were exposed to waste with those who were not. Eleven studies compared workers collecting solid domestic waste specifi cally to workers not exposed to any waste [9][10][11][12]19,[21][22][23]26,28,29 ; four compared workers exposed to healthcare waste to those exposed to uninfected waste from hospitals 18,24,25,27 . Uninfected waste differs from domestic waste as the latter often contains blood or other bodily fl uids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sample size adopted in selected papers was analyzed according to the guidelines by Loney et al 15 for comparing the prevalence in exposed and non-exposed subjects ( Table 1). Eight studies [9][10][11]22,26,[28][29][30] did not have an adequate sample size to ensure statistical signifi cance, whereas the remaining nine studies 12,[18][19][20][21][23][24][25]27 had adequate sample sizes 32 . Recall bias is also relevant, albeit infrequently mentioned in the included publications.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, the study participants might not have been able to recall all information regarding past exposures during an interview. They might have also found it diffi cult to answer some interview questions, particularly those related to sexual behaviour 10,12,18,20,[24][25][26][27][28] . Surprisingly, few respondents outright refused to answer these questions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is waste collection associated with hepatitis B infection? A meta-analysis

Mol

Cairncross

Greco

et al. 2017

Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop.

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This meta-analysis, which is based on a previously published systematic review, aims to contribute to the scientifi c discussion on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in workers who are exposed to domestic and healthcare wastes. Publications were sought which had been made available on the data used by December 2013 and updated to December 2016. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to the guidelines of Loney et al. for the critical appraisal of studies on the prevalence or incidence of a health problem. To verify the presence of heterogeneity between the papers, we used the Chi-squared test based on a Q statistic. A funnel plot was used to test for publication bias. All included studies had across-sectional study design. The association between exposure to waste and positive serology for the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) showed a signifi cant association [odds ratio (OR) 1.89, 95% confi dence interval (CI) 1.27-2.86; p = 0.0019]. The prevalence rates of HBsAg and anti-HBc seropositivity was 0.04 (95% CI 0.03-0.05) and 0.21 (95% CI 0.14-0.28), respectively (p <0.0001). We found no evidence of publication bias. The results of this meta-analysis indicate a statistically signifi cant association between exposure to solid waste, whether healthcare or domestic, and positive HBV infection markers. Therefore, the working conditions of waste collectors should be analyzed more closely. Immunization against HBV is recommended as the chief preventive measure for all solid waste workers.

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The exposure rate to hepatitis B and C viruses among medical waste handlers in three government hospitals, southern Ethiopia

Cited by 29 publications

References 14 publications

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

Healthcare Waste Management: A Case Study from Sudan

Tumour virus epidemiology

Is waste collection associated with hepatitis B infection? A meta-analysis

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