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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-RELATED MORBIDITIES AMONG STREET SWEEPERS AND WASTE COLLECTORS AT BENI-SUEF, EGYPT

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

Subjects

-

Tags

Occupational diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Street sweepers play an important role in maintaining the health and hygiene in the communities. However, their job exposes them to various hazards while, little or no attention is paid to their health status. Aim of the work: To study the possible work-related morbidities among street sweepers and waste collectors emphasizing on the occupational risks they are exposed to and the preventive measures they take to avoid their job-related hazardous exposures. Materials and Methods: A total of 138 street sweepers and waste collectors and a matching control group of randomly selected 127 university workers and clerks were interviewed, answered the study questionnaire, and had medical examination, then they offered blood and stool samples for laboratory investigations. Results: Compared to the control group, street sweepers and waste collectors had significantly higher rates of HCV seropositivity, parasitic infestations, skin irritation, respiratory complaints and work-related injuries; but with significantly lower mean hemoglobin levels, (p<0.05).
However, no significant difference was detected for HBV infection, eye complaints, joint or lower back pains. Most of street sweepers had never been medically examined, vaccinated, trained for safety practices or even health educated regarding their occupation-related health hazards. Conclusion: Street sweeping and waste collection 
is a hazardous job that exposes its workers to infections especially with the little, in any, protective measures they apply. Guidelines for safety measures and controlling infections should be emphasized and employed for those workers, while offering periodic medical examinations and supplying them with personal protective equipments.
 

DOI

10.21608/ejom.2013.773

Keywords

Street sweepers, Occupational hazards, Waste collection, Morbidity – HCV

Authors

First Name

Ewis

Last Name

AA

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

Mohamed

Last Name

ES

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

-

First Name

Rahma

Last Name

MA,

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Department of Community Health, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

Hifnawy

Last Name

TM

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Arafa

Last Name

AE

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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Volume

37

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

191

Issue Date

2013-01-01

Receive Date

2016-11-10

Publish Date

2013-01-01

Page Start

79

Page End

94

Print ISSN

1110-1881

Online ISSN

2357-058X

Link

https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/article_773.html

Detail API

https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=773

Order

6

Type

Study paper

Type Code

126

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine

Publication Link

https://ejom.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

-

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023