A special risk group for hepatitis E infection: Turkish agricultural workers who use untreated waste water for irrigation.
Untreated waste water usage in agriculture is an important health-threatening issue which could affect both workers' and the public's health. In this study we researched hepatitis E infection in 46 of 57 farmers who used untreated waste water in agriculture. We compared them with 45 persons of the same socio-economic status and age. Anti-HEV seropositivity was 34.8% in the workers and 4.4% in the control group. We suggest that this type of irrigation is an important potential risk for hepatitis E infection.
Ceylan
A
A
Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
Ertem
M
M
Ilcin
E
E
Ozekinci
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005260:Female; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply