Markku Seuri, FIOH, INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN WASTE MANAGEMENT Tartu

Markku Seuri, FIOH, WASTE  infectious waste from hospitals etc  sharps waste  solid community waste –collecting –dumping ground –treatment  waste-water treatment

Markku Seuri, FIOH, GENERAL ASPECTS  microbes found depend on the processes  exposure to a certain microbe in waste-water depend on the prevalence of that disease

Markku Seuri, FIOH, INFECTIOUS WASTE  cultures  human or animal pathological waste  contaminated material  sharps  free flowing waste

Markku Seuri, FIOH, LIMITING THE HAZARDS OF INFECTIOUS WASTE  policy –written –approved –based on present knowledge  guidelines –written and simple instructions  training

Markku Seuri, FIOH, SOLID COMMUNITY WASTE  proper handling of waste (sharps) at home  good containers, easy to collect  no-touch handling of the waste  personal hygiene (smoking, eating, drinking, clothing)  at the dump site; preventing the dust  tetanus vaccination

Markku Seuri, FIOH, WASTE-WATER TREATMENT PLANTS  waste-water contains many pathogenic microbes, which are common in that particular community: –hepatitis A –hepatitis C –Salmonella spp –intestinal parasites  waste-water treatment plant workers report more gastrointestinal tract symptoms than controls

Markku Seuri, FIOH, EPIDEMIOLOGY OF WASTE- WATER TREATMENT PLANT WORKERS  waste-water treatment plant workers seem to have more hepatitis A –depends on the task  they do not experience any increased risk of clinical disease

Markku Seuri, FIOH, WASTE-WATER TREATMENT AND SALMONELLA  Salmonella spp can be found in waste- water  in our study they waste-water treatment plant workers had less antibodies against salmonella than blood donors and reported less salmonellosis than food processing plant workers  could salmonella exposure by inhalation prevent gastrointestinal salmonellosis?

Markku Seuri, FIOH, WASTE-WATER TREATMENT PLANT GI-SYMPTOMS  in several studies more gi-symptoms –habitual stomach pain –loose or watery stools –varying bowel habits  cause is probably some virus  more among the young workers (?)  not related to any later disease

Markku Seuri, FIOH, SIMPLE PRINCIPLES FOR WASTE WORK  avoid cuts  avoid dust, do not let the waste dry  use protective proper protective device  in some cases exclusion of some workers may be considered: –immunocompromised –workers with asthma –workers with allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis – dermatitis  remember tetanus vaccination