P-017 SETTING THE BASELINE FOR A SENTINEL SYSTEM FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONAL RISK FACTORS IN AFRICA: THE BIONET PROJECT

Abstract Introduction In Africa, environmental and occupational health risks are mostly underreported. We initiated the BIONET EU project with the aim of understanding the occupational origin of certain diseases that seem to be associated with new occupational settings, while developing and implementing a sentinel surveillance system, comprising training and guidance of occupational physicians (OC), who will report new work-related diseases in African countries. Methods A group of 30 OC is recruited and trained in each of the partner countries (Morocco, Benin, and Ethiopia). Each committed OC is asked to recruit 50 workers during a consultation in a time frame of 6 months (1500 workers per country). Workers are asked to fill out an online questionnaire about their health status and work conditions, including exposure to 20 chemicals. Urine and blood samples are then collected for human biomonitoring of common exposures. Results Our preliminary results showed that 92% of the employees surveyed are exposed to physical constraints, 44% to chemical agents, and 24% to biological agents. The most common physical constraints are manual handling of loads, noise pollution, and thermal pollution. The most frequent chemical risks are exposure to pesticides and fuels. Discussion and conclusion The BIONET project will allow a better understanding of effective sentinel systems as a promising method to gather high-quality data, which can support policy-making in terms of assessing occupational exposure, preventing emerging work-related diseases, and ensuring feedback to assist with prevention in African countries.