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Reproductive Health and Wellness

Morbidity among Children Living around Clinical Waste Treatment and Disposal Site in the Northwest Region of Cameroon

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Clinical waste is ineffectively treated and
disposed in Cameroon. Disposal sites have
unrestricted access and are located within
communities. We hypothesize that vector proliferation
and exposure to chronic low-level
emissions will increase morbidity in children
living around such sites. Self-reported disease
frequency questionnaires were used to
estimate the frequency of new episodes of
intestinal, respiratory and skin infections
among exposed children less than 10 years.
Data was simultaneously collected for unexposed
children of the same age, using the
same questionnaire. Data reporting by the
parents was done in the first week in each of
the 6 months study period. The risk ratios
were 3.54 (95% CI, 2.19-5.73), 3.20 (95% CI,
1.34-7.60) and 1.35 (95% CI, 0.75-2.44) for
respiratory, intestinal and skin infections
respectively. Their respective risk differences
were 0.47 (47%), 0.18 (18%) and 0.08 (8%).
The study revealed that poor treatment and
disposal of clinical waste sites enhance morbidity
in children living close to such areas.
Simple health promotion and intervention
programs such as relocating such sites can
significantly reduce morbidity.

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Language
English
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Subject(s)
Children
Cameroon
Morbidity
Clinical Waste
Disposal
Exposure
Pollution
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Article
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