الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Many of the tropical diseases cause disability and hinder the socio-economic development of the third world coutries where they rage. they are not only more common in developing coutries but are also more likely to be sever and have high mortality rates because of the background condition of the populations in which they occur: Poverty, inadequate housing, contaminated water supplies and low-level of literacy are all commonly present. Tropical diseases are adversely affecting the health status of hwnan population, the prevalence of tropical diseases provides an index of community progress towards desirable level of sanitation. As the industrial workers at a town. are exposed to many health problems, among which are the tropical diseases, the aim of this study is to assess the impact of some important tropical diseases on the pre-defmed domains of quality of life and functional status of factory workers in Alexandria and to identify the magnitude of the tropical diseases problem among them. For the purpose of this study, the following model diseases have been studied: Schistosomiasis, which is one of the diseases that has been said to have sever economic implications in Egypt. Hepatitis B infection, it is also a major health problem, with close to 300 million carriers estimated worldwide. It is highly endemic in Middle East Endoparasitosis, they are still one of the public health problems in Egypt. Fascioliasis, it is becoming a problem of increasing threat in Egypt. Tuberculosis, it is becoming a growing worldwide problem, with evidence of an increase in the rate of the disease and in the incidence of multiple drug-resistant strains. 11 The study was carried on five randomly chosen factories representing main types of industries in Alexandria ( textile, food, chemical and metallic ). All workers attending the out-patients clinics with a history of one or more of the index tropical diseases (Schistosomiasis, Fascioliasis, Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis and Endoparasitosis) were recruited. An equal number of controls was chosen matched for sex, age, marital status, educational level and type of work. A pre-tested valid questionnaire was administered for both groups to assess the impact of tropical diseases on the pre-defmed domains of quality of life ( general health perception, social activity, psychological well-being, symptoms commonly associated with the chosen tropical diseases and their bothering effects, working capacity, absenteeism, patient’s worries and concerns ). A total of 479 cases and 479 controls have participated in the study. To estimate the magnitude of the tropical health problem among workers, physicians inside the five randomly chosen factories were asked using factory medical records and results of laboratory investigations to include all workers known to have had anyone or more of the index tropical diseases at any time within the period 1 st December-31 th December, 1994. , ” .” The main results revealed from the present study were: 1. The quality of life score of factory workers with a history of any of the index tropical diseases was lower than that of healthy controls. 2. Among the index tropical diseases, the lowest quality of life score was observed in cases with a history of active hepatitis B and Tuberculosis necessitating treatment while the highest score was in cases with endoparasitosis. 3. The total prevalence rate of S. mansoni among studied factory workers was 12.3 / 1,000 workers. while that of S. haematobium was 1.6/1,000 workers. It was higher in males than females in both types. 4. The total prevalence rate of fascioliasis among studied factory workers was 5.2 per 1,000 workers. It was slightly higher among female than male workers (7.0 and 5.0/ 1,000 workers respectively). 5- The total prevalence rate of active hepatitis B among studied factory workers was 1.1 per 1,000 workers. It was slightly higher among female than male workers. The HbsAg ,carrier rate of apparent healthy workers at blood donation was found to be 13.5 . 6- The total prevalence rate of TB among studied factory workers was 18.1 per 10,000 workers. It was higher in male than in female workers (19.2 and 8.7 / 10,000 workers respectively) . 7. The total prevalence rate of studied endoparasitic diseases ( ascariasis, amaebiasis, giardiasis and trichuriasis) among chosen factory workers was 5.9 . It was slightly higher in male than female workers ( 5.9 and 5.5 respectively). from the study, the followings are recommended: 1. Strict attention and special care should be directed towards the problem of tropical diseases and their bad effects on the quality of life and functional status and consequently on the productivity of factory workers.. 2. Heath education programs should be organized periodically for factory workers aiming at clear Wlderstanding of the various modes of tropical diseases transmission, protection methods, common symptoms, importance a of early diagnosis and proper treatment. 3. Comprehensive medical examination with suitable stool, urine and blood analyses should be carried out for every worker before employment with proper treatment of infected workers. This ensure proper placement of every worker according to his health status, followed by Regular periodic check-up of factory workers through stool, urine analysis and complete blood picture for early discovery and proper treatment of tropical diseases. 4. Encouragement of the medical staff in the factories to keep complete and adequate medical records for all workers to facilitate further studies on different diseases. ~pecial attention should be directed towards the importance of the study J of the impact of various chronic diseases of productivity of factory workers.