PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS C INFECTION AMONG MUNICIPAL WASTE COLLECTORS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN 2025

Abstract

The problem of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection deserves great attention not only to every section of the society but also to the susceptible population of the occupation type. Garbage collectors must cope with such harmful substances getting into their body without any protective mask or dressing which puts them at a risk of being infected with blood and other diseases including HCV. This study was intended to determine the prevalence of the Hepatitis C infection among the municipal workers working as waste collectors in Faisalabad town of Pakistan and establish the risk factors that lead to the infection. One municipality office was used in each of the two cities of Faisalabad in 2025 and a cross-sectional survey developed. The study involved two hundred providers of wastes serving municipal areas. A series of structured questionnaires was applied to determine the demographic (age, sex, level of education), occupational (duration of waste handling, the use of personal protective equipment) and health-related (family history of hepatitis C, the frequency of outdoors activities) data. Serological evidence of HCV status was demonstrated. The statistical analysis was performed with the use of SPSS (last version) and the chi-square tests helped to decide the statistically significant associations. Among the 200 respondents who took the survey of this case, the results showed that 18.8 percent of the respondents were found to have tested positive of Hepatitis C and the rest 81.2 were negative. It was determined that the age bracket 35-44 years was associated with the level of HCV infection (p < 0.05). No less interesting is that occupational exposure was just one of the risk factors because half of participants who tested positive in HCV population reported frequent contacts with medical waste and no use of gloves which also signifies the occupational exposure. In this study, a serious rate of HCV infection is observed among the people collecting garbage at the place referred to as Faisalabad. It has been found that there is slight variation between the prevalence rates in the workers at the municipal settings and the population and it is most likely because of the deficient training and enhancement of PPE use by the waste collectors that is still a threat of unconscious spread. The above information raises an alarm of caution since it implies that prevention policies are effective in order to secure the health of this group of people who are most likely to fall sick owing to the working space.