Warssamo Birhanu Betela
Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Science, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Front Epidemiol. 2025 Jan 6;4:1485482. doi: 10.3389/fepid.2024.1485482. eCollection 2024.
There is limited evidence on prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among waste handlers in Sidama region, Ethiopia; however, this knowledge is necessary for effective prevention of HCV infection in the region.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected waste collectors from October 2021 to 30 July 2022 in different public hospitals of Sidama region of Ethiopia. Serum samples were collected from participants and screened for anti-HCV using rapid immunochromatography assay. Socio-demographic and risk factor information of waste handlers was gathered by pretested and well-structured questionnaires The generalized linear model (GLM) was conducted using R software, and -value <0.05 was declared statistically significant.
From a total of 282 participating waste handlers, 16 (5.7%) (95% CI = 4.2-8.7) were infected with hepatitis C virus. Educational status of waste handlers was the significant demographic variable that was associated with hepatitis C virus (AOR = 0.055; 95% CI = 0.012-0.248; = 0.000). More married waste handlers, 12 (75%), were HCV positive than unmarried, 4 (25%) and married waste handlers were 2.051 times (OR = 2.051, 95% CI = 0.644-6.527, = 0.295) more prone to HCV infection, compared to unmarried, which was statistically insignificant. The GLM showed that exposure to blood (OR = 8.26; 95% CI = 1.878-10.925; = 0.037), multiple sexual partners (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI = 2.751-5.808; = 0.001), sharp injury (AOR = 2.77; 95% CI = 2.327-3.173; = 0.036), not using personal protective equipment (AOR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.032-0.937; = 0.001), contact with jaundiced patient (AOR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.093-4.368; = 0.0048) and unprotected sex (AOR = 11.91; 95% CI = 5.847-16.854; = 0.001) remained statistically significantly associated with HCV positivity.
The study revealed that there was a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among waste handlers in Sidama region, Ethiopia. This demonstrated that there is an urgent need to increase preventative efforts and strategic policy orientations to control the spread of the hepatitis C virus.
关于埃塞俄比亚锡达马地区垃圾处理人员丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的患病率和危险因素的证据有限；然而，这些信息对于该地区有效预防HCV感染是必要的。
2021年10月至2022年7月30日，在埃塞俄比亚锡达马地区的不同公立医院对随机选择的垃圾收集者进行了一项横断面研究。从参与者中采集血清样本，并使用快速免疫层析法筛查抗HCV。通过预先测试且结构良好的问卷收集垃圾处理人员的社会人口统计学和危险因素信息。使用R软件进行广义线性模型（GLM）分析，P值<0.05被视为具有统计学意义。
在总共282名参与的垃圾处理人员中，16人（5.7%）（95%CI=4.2-8.7）感染了丙型肝炎病毒。垃圾处理人员的教育程度是与丙型肝炎病毒相关的显著人口统计学变量（调整后比值比[AOR]=0.055；95%CI=0.012-0.248；P=0.000）。已婚垃圾处理人员中HCV阳性的有12人（75%），高于未婚者的4人（25%），但已婚垃圾处理人员感染HCV的可能性是未婚者的2.051倍（比值比[OR]=2.051，95%CI=0.644-6.527，P=0.295），差异无统计学意义。GLM分析显示，接触血液（OR=8.26；95%CI=1.878-10.925；P=0.037）、多个性伴侣（AOR=3.63；95%CI=2.751-5.808；P=0.001）、锐器伤（AOR=2.77；95%CI=2.327-3.173；P=0.036）、未使用个人防护设备（AOR=0.77；95%CI=0.032-0.937；P=0.001）、接触黄疸患者（AOR=3.65；95%CI=1.093-4.3
