Marcello Casal Jr. / Agência BrasilResidents from the outskirts of the Federal District sort through household and commercial wasteMarcello Casal Jr. / Agência Brasil
The precarious working conditions of recyclable material collectors increases the spread of disease-causing viruses. Researchers from the University of Brasília (UnB), the University of São Paulo (USP), the Butantan Institute, and the BioCampus Bio-medico University of Rome analyzed the metagenomes of blood samples from 120 people who collected recyclables at the Cidade Estrutural landfill near Brasília National Park in the Federal District in 2017. The majority (71%) were women. The results were compared against 60 blood donors from the Ribeirão Preto Hematology Center. The samples were tested together and some contained nucleic acids from viruses such as HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses), HCV (hepatitis C), dengue, and Chikungunya, which were not found in the control group. Cidade Estrutural is home to around 45,000 people. Some 2,000 people worked at the town’s landfill before it was decommissioned in 2017; it now only receives construction waste. Many collectors still live in the area, working for cooperatives and associations contracted by urban cleaning services in the Federal District or working for themselves, collecting materials from the street (Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, August).
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