Biomedical Research Methodology and Public Health, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Tropical Medicine, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
Department of Community Health, National University, San Diego, CA USA.
Waste Manag. 2020 Dec;118:122-130. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.08.040. Epub 2020 Sep 3.
There are millions of waste pickers worldwide that are predominantly located in low- and middle-income countries. They survive on sorting and selling reusable orrecyclable materials discarded by society.While sorting, they are exposed to occupational risks and hazards, including cuts from sharp objects and medical wastes, that could be contaminated by infectious diseases. Because of these exposures, a study was conducted to determine the prevalence of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STI's) among waste pickers. A cross-sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire and blood samples for serological tests were collected. A total of 1,025 waste pickers were interviewed. Most participants were women (67.54%), without a partner (70.11%), were an average of 40 years old, and had between 3 and 4 children. There were 755 samples collected for syphilis, 791 for HIV, 866 for hepatitis B, and 859 for hepatitis C. Of these samples, 28 (3.70%) waste pickers had reagent serology for syphilis, 6 (0.75%) for HIV; 6 (0.69%) for acute hepatitis B and 1 (0.11%) for hepatitis C. Overall, this study identified the serological status of waste pickers; this information can be used to encourage waste pickers to seek health treatment for STIs and receive education to understand the risks associated with being exposed to medical waste or syringes.
全球有数百万拾荒者，主要分布在中低收入国家。他们靠分拣和出售社会丢弃的可回收或可再利用的材料为生。在分拣过程中，他们会接触到职业风险和危害，包括被锐器和医疗废物割伤，这些废物可能被传染病污染。由于这些接触，进行了一项研究，以确定拾荒者中梅毒和其他性传播感染（STI）的流行率。这项横断面研究使用半结构式问卷和血液样本进行血清学检测。共采访了 1025 名拾荒者。大多数参与者是女性（67.54%），没有伴侣（70.11%），平均年龄为 40 岁，有 3 到 4 个孩子。共采集了 755 份梅毒样本、791 份 HIV 样本、866 份乙型肝炎样本和 859 份丙型肝炎样本。在这些样本中，28 份（3.70%）拾荒者的梅毒试剂血清学呈阳性，6 份（0.75%）HIV 阳性；6 份（0.69%）急性乙型肝炎和 1 份（0.11%）丙型肝炎。总的来说，这项研究确定了拾荒者的血清学状况；这些信息可用于鼓励拾荒者寻求性传播感染的治疗，并接受教育，了解接触医疗废物或注射器带来的风险。
