[Respiratory symptoms and ventilatory disorders among a group of cement workers in Morocco].

There are 8 cement works in Morocco employing 3 600 people and producing 8 million tons annually. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to propose some preventive measures. The study involved a group of workers of whom 280 were exposed to cement dust (who were further subdivided into three categories according to the intensity of exposure) and 73 who were not.

[The value of occupational health in the national campaign against tuberculosis in Morocco].

Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in Marocco, with an incidence of 100 cases per 100,000 people. Occupational health could make a substantial contribution to the national anti-tuberculosis campaign, as the principal aims of occupational health are to protect and to improve the physical, mental and social well-being of the workforce. Occupational health thus devotes considerable attention to the promotion of health in general, and the fight against tuberculosis in particular.

[Child labor in the artisan sector of Morocco: determinants and health effects].

Despite the fact that child labour is regulated through the work code, and the convention on child rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989 and ratified by Morocco in 1993, multiple surveys have shown that children are often put to work at a very early age and few employers respect the work conditions laid out in the texts. The aim of this study was to assess the different situations of child labour in the handicraft sector, the reasons and the problems surrounding it, to study its repercussions on health and to propose several preventive measures. From March to July 1997, a retrospective cohort study of working children and children in school was carried out in a small neighbourhood of Casablanca.

[Occupational hazards in the Moroccan craft sector and proposal for occupational health services].

The absence of occupational health services, the numerous occupational hazards and the high number of people working in the handicraft sector have sparked this study. Descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological studies were carried out throughout 1996 for different artisan activities: iron-work, jewellery making, rug making, tannery, "zellige", pottery, and woodworking. The study included 449 artisans and consisted of an analysis of work conditions, a medico-social questionnaire, a clinical examination and among certain artisans, a biological check-up, a respiratory check-up (thoracic x-ray and lung function testing), and a toxicological check-up.

[Occupational medicine in Morocco: analysis of practices and proposition of action].

With the aim of a better knowledge of their activities of training and information of workers, a survey has been conducted through questionnaires sent to 582 occupational health physicians in Morocco. Among the 48% of physicians who accepted to answer the questionnaire, over half was effectively working in companies. This study revealed many problems in prevention of professional hazards.

[Occupational respiratory risks in workers exposed to enzymes in detergents].

The addition of encapsulated enzymes (proteases and lipases) to detergents in Morocco dates from 1993. We have carried out a retrospective survey which has enabled us to evaluate the prevalence of the clinical symptoms and respiratory function problems in two groups, one exposed and the other non-exposed. This enquiry which concerns 32 exposed workers and 42 non-exposed consisted of a questionnaire (CECA OMS), a chest x-ray and some respiratory function tests.