Abstract
Abstract
Background
Sanitation or sanitary workers are exposed to hepatitis virus infections because of filthy and dangerous working conditions. The current global systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled sero-prevalence of occupationally associated hepatitis virus infection among them.
Methods
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA), and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and study design (PICOS) were used for flow diagram, and review questions, respectively. Four databases other methods were used published articles from 2000 to 2022. Boolean logic (AND, OR), MeSH, and keywords were used: (Occupation *OR Job *OR Work) AND (Hepatitis A *OR Hepatitis B virus *OR Hepatitis C virus *OR Hepatitis E virus) AND (Solid waste collectors [SWCs] *OR Street sweepers [SS] *OR Sewage workers [STWs] *OR health care facilities cleaners [HCFCs)) AND (Countries). Stata MP/17 software was used for pooled prevalence analysis, meta-regression analysis (Hedges) at a 95% confidence interval (CI:95%).
Results
A total of 182 studies were identified studies, a total of 28 studies were included from twelve countries. Of these, from developed (n = 7) and developing countries (n = 5). From total a of 9049 sanitary workers, 5951(66%), 2280 (25%) and 818 (9%) were STWs, SWCs and SS, respectively. Globally, the pooled sero-prevalence of occupational-related hepatitis viral infections among sanitary workers was 38.06% (95% CI: 30–0.46.12). Of this, it was 42.96% (95% CI: 32.63–53.29) and 29.81% (95% CI: 17.59–42.02) for high-income and low-income countries, respectively. Meanwhile, by sub-analysis, the highest pooled sero-prevalence of hepatitis viral infections by categories, type and year were 47.66% (95%CI: 37.42–57.90), 48.45% (95% CI: 37.95–58.96), and 48.30% (95% CI: 36.13–60.47) for SWTs, HAV, and 2000 to 2010 year, respectively.
Conclusion
The consistency of the evidence suggests that sanitation workers, particularly sewage workers, are susceptible to occupationally acquired hepatitis regardless of their working conditions, necessitating significant changes to occupational health and safety regulations from governmental policies and other initiatives to reduce risks among sanitary workers.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference47 articles.
1. Kabir, A., N. Farhana, F. Akter, S. Jesmin, A. Ali. Sweeping practices, knowledge about OSH hazards in Dhaka city, Bangladesh:. Aa qualitative inquiry, 2015. 2(3): 237–243. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20150476:
2. WHO. /World Health Organization/. New report exposes horror of working conditions for millions of sanitation workers in the developing world. 2019. https://www.who.int/news/item/14-11-2019 . Accessed 23 June 2023 .
3. Gomathi P, Kamala K. Threatening health impacts and challenging life of sanitary workers. J Evol Med Dent Sci. 2020;9(41):3061 https://www.jemds.com/data_pdf/gomathi-subi-giri-aug-10-RA-.pdf . Accessed 2 Sept 2022 .
4. WHO/World Health Organization/. Health, Safety and Dignity of Sanitation Workers: an Initial Assessment. Guidelines on sanitation and health, Geneva, 2018. 2020, World Health Organization: Geneva. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/publication/wcms_728054.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2022
5. Dement JM, Epling C, Ostbye T, Pompeii LA, Hunt DL. Blood and body fluid exposure risks among health care workers: results from the Duke Health and Safety Surveillance System. Am J Ind Med. 2004;46:637–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20106.