Author(s)

Léon Kabamba Ngombe^1,2, Nlandu Roger Ngatu³, Nyembo Mukena Christophe¹, Benjamin Kabyla Ilunga^3,4, Stanis Wembonyama Okitotsho^4,5, Jean-Baptiste Kakoma Sakatolo⁵, Oscar Luboya Numbi^1,4,5, Brigitta Danuser⁶

¹Department of Research, School of Nursing of Lubumbashi (ISTM Lubumbashi), Lubumbashi, Congo.
²Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Unity of Toxicology, University of Kamina, Kamina, Congo.
³Department of Environmental Medicine, Kochi University Medical School, Nankoku, Japan.
⁴School of Public Health, Department of Public Health, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Congo.
⁵Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatry, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Congo.
⁶Service of Occupational Medicine, Institute for Work and Health, University of Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and illustrate the dangerousness of the sands dust in the Artisanal carriers in the city of Lubumbashi, Katanga province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Method: In total, 120 carriers of sand have been recruited in an exhaustive approach with 120 communal administrative officers of Lubumbashi city as control group. Respiratory symptoms were collected using a respiratory questionnaire. A multi-analysis varied with the test of logistic regression has been privileged to determine the association between the characteristics of the carriers and the respiratory symptoms. Results: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms reported in carriers of sands was greater than that of the control group for the symptoms such as: cough in the morning (52.5% against 6.7%), sputum in the morning (35% against 7.5%), shortness of breath after effort (18.3% against 5%), asthma (26.7% against 5%), chronic bronchitis (12.5% against 4.2%), rhinitis (62.5% against 21.7%), conjunctivitis (58.3% against 17.5%). After adjustment, on factors such as age and education, the profession carrier of sands was strongly associated with the risk of developing respiratory symptoms below: spit in the morning, shortness of breath after effort, asthma, chronic bronchitis with a p < 0.001. The Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) has been significantly reduced in the Carriers of sands (438.87 ± 109.02) compared to controls (480.14 ± 70.73) (p ＜ 0.05). Conclusion: The profession carriers of sand as practiced in Lubumbashi, without means of adequate protection, carry a clear risk for respiratory health. It is essential to organize a specialized education in medicine of the work which can train doctors with proven expertise to address the enormous need for qualified personnel in this environment considered at risk of breathing.

The Carriers, Prevalence, Dust of Sands, Respiratory Health

Ngombe, L. , Ngatu, N. , Christophe, N. , Ilunga, B. , Okitotsho, S. , Sakatolo, J. , Numbi, O. and Danuser, B. (2016) Respiratory Problems of Sands Carriers in the City of Lubumbashi/Rd Congo. Open Access Library Journal, 3, 1-10. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1103172.