Publications

Introduction: Despite the attendant health risks inherent in waste dump sites, certain individuals make their living by foraging andpacking the waste for survival.Methods: A total of 280 samples were collected from the waste collectors, scavengers, and people living and trading aroundrefuse dump sites, collection centers, and refuse dump sites in Awka Metropolis. The bacterial and fungal isolates were furthersubjected to pathogenicity testing using Wistar rats.Results: The histology of the kidneys and lungs was altered except for the control group, which was injected with normal saline.There were moderate and profuse macrophage infiltrations, with Bowman’s capsule distorted in the majority of the kidneys. It wasobserved that none of the microorganisms altered the histology of the liver. The histology of the kidney and the lungs of the albinoWistar rats was altered, which is indicative of pathoogenicity.Conclusión: the pathogenic nature of the organisms isolated in this study indicates that the activities of scavengers and wastecollectors pose a serious health risk to the public. This study therefore calls for a proper regulatory system for waste disposal.