Microbial Waste Management in Healthcare Settings: A Review

Shakti Rath; Subrat Kumar , Tripathy; Debasmita Dubey; Santosh Kumar Swain; Sangram Panda

doi:10.31632/ijalsr.2024.v07i02.001

Shakti Rath Associate Professor (Microbiology & Research), Faculty of Dental Sciences and Nursing, Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Subrat Kumar , Tripathy Department of Biochemistry, IMS & Sum Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan (deemed to be) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Debasmita Dubey Assistant Professor, Medical Research Laboratory, IMS & Sum Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan (deemed to be) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Santosh Kumar Swain Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Sangram Panda Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar 751003, Odisha, India.

DOI https://doi.org/10.31632/ijalsr.2024.v07i02.001

Abstract

Human health is directly related to the environment and its various components. Healthcare is one sector that witnesses maximum footfalls in terms of patients, thus giving rise to a large scale of microbial wastes. These microbial wastes are mostly hazardous and risk polluting the environment and putting public health at stake. Safe disposal of these wastes is a significant concern due to their associated risks. Waste management methods commonly include chemical disinfection, steam sterilization, landfilling, and incineration. These methods pose various risks to human health, possibly attributed to their characteristic property of creating secondary pollutants. Such problems have intrigued researchers to search for better alternatives and advanced techniques. The onset of COVID-19 has jeopardized the waste management system in the healthcare sector, mainly related to hazardous microbial wastes. The current review discusses the impact of microbial wastes on the public and environmental health. It further discusses the advantages of modern techniques over traditional ones for sustainable management of microbial wastes. Modern techniques still face certain drawbacks, so the authors invite future research activities to work towards making these techniques even better and more sustainable.

Keywords: Environmental pollution, Healthcare sector, Microbial waste management, Modern techniques, Secondary pollutants.

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Author Biographies

Shakti Rath, Associate Professor (Microbiology & Research), Faculty of Dental Sciences and Nursing, Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Associate Professor (Microbiology & Research), Faculty of Dental Sciences and Nursing, Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Subrat Kumar , Tripathy, Department of Biochemistry, IMS & Sum Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan (deemed to be) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Department of Biochemistry, IMS & Sum Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan (deemed to be) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Santosh Kumar Swain, Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Sangram Panda, Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar 751003, Odisha, India.

Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar 751003, Odisha, India.

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