Infection with the hepatitis B and C viruses may occur through parenteral contact associated with infected body fluids, including injury with infected sharps. Collectors of domestic or healthcare wastes are potentially exposed to these infections. The aim of this paper is to investigate the risk factors associated with the prevalence of hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) infection of domestic and healthcare waste workers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A cross-sectional study of hepatitis B and C infection was conducted from November 2014 to January 2015, through blood sample collection and interviews about socio-demographic factors with 61 workers exposed to healthcare waste ("exposed") and 461 exposed only to domestic wastes ("unexposed"). The prevalence of Anti-HCV antibodies was 3.3% in "exposed" workers and 0.9% in "unexposed", and of AntiHBc was 9.8% and 5.6% in "exposed" and "unexposed" workers, respectively. Only 207 (44.9%) of those exposed to domestic waste and 45 (73.8%) of those handling healthcare waste were higher among healthcare waste workers compared to domestic waste workers, probably because of needlestick accidents due to deficient sharps management systems. Immunization against hepatitis B and screening test to ensure the success of vaccination should be a condition for recruitment for both groups of waste workers.
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