Hospital Waste: A Threat to Human Health, Environment and Microbial Biodiversity

Abstract

Hospital waste also known as medical waste poses a serious and far reaching threat if improperly managed, to human health, the environment, and microbial biodiversity. This waste are generated from medical procedures, laboratories, and healthcare facilities, includes infectious materials, used sharps, pharmaceuticals, and hazardous chemicals. This research was aimed to outline the threats that hospital waste pose to human health, environment and microbial biodiversity. When not properly segregated, treated, or disposed of, hospital waste can transmit life-threatening diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and bacterial infections, particularly among healthcare workers, waste handlers, and nearby communities. The environmental impact is equally concerning, as open dumping, incineration without emission control, and direct discharge into water bodies lead to air, soil, and water pollution. Harmful substances like dioxins, heavy metals, and drug residues contaminate ecosystems, harm wildlife, and pose long-term health risks to humans. Less visible but critically important is the damage hospital waste causes to microbial biodiversity. Antibiotic residues and resistant bacteria in hospital effluents disrupt natural microbial populations in soil and aquatic environments, diminishing their role in vital ecological processes like nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition. This disruption contributes to the global rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), threatening both ecosystem stability and human medicine. In essence, the unsafe handling of hospital waste creates a chain reaction of biological, chemical, and ecological consequences. Tackling this challenge requires a coordinated approach involving strict waste management protocols, regulatory enforcement, sustainable treatment technologies, and public education to safeguard not only human life but also the delicate balance of the environment and microbial ecosystems.

Keywords:  Hospital Waste, Human Health, Environment, Microbial Biodiversity