Sewage Workers Not at Increased Risk for Hepatitis E

It's a reasonable asumption: People who work with sewage might be at a higher risk for hepatitis E infection. However, researchers from the University of Zurich conclude there is no higher risk of infection. A study recently published in the British journal, Occupational Environmental Medicine, compared 332 workers exposed to sewage against a control group of 446 municipal manual workers and found nothing to support the hypothesis of sewage as a source of occupational infection.

The hepatitis E virus spreads through the fecal-oral route, just like the hepatitis A virus. Just as sewage workers aren't at increased risk for hepatitis E, they aren't at increased risk for hepatitis A, either. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend only immunization for two groups at increased risk because of occupational exposure: people who work with HAV-infected primate or in a HAV research laboratory.