Abstract
Food-handlers with poor personal hygiene working in food-service establishments could be potential sources of infection due to pathogenic organisms. The study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of bacteria and intestinal parasites among 127 food-handlers working in the cafeterias of the University of Gondar and the Gondar Teachers Training College, Gondar, Ethiopia. Fingernail contents of both the hands and stool specimens were collected from all the 127 food-handlers. The samples were examined for bacteria and intestinal parasites following standard procedures. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the predominant bacteria species (41.7%) isolated from fingernail contents, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (16.5%), Klebsiella species (5.5%), Escherichia coli (3.1%), Serratia species (1.58%), Citrobacter species (0.8%), and Enterobacter species (0.8%). Shigella species were isolated from stool samples of four food-handlers (3.1%). None of the food-handlers was positive for Salmonella species and Shigella species in respect of their fingernail contents. No intestinal parasites were detected from fingernail contents. Intestinal parasites detected in the stools of the food-handlers included Ascaris lumbricoides (18.11%), Strongyloides stercoralis (5.5%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (1.6%), Trichuris trichiura (1.6%), hookworm species (0.8%), Gardia lamblia (0.8%), and Schistosoma mansoni (0.8%); 1.6% of the study subjects were positive for each of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, hookworm, and G. lamblia. The findings emphasize the importance of food-handlers as potential sources of infections and suggest health institutions for appropriate hygienic and sanitary control measures.
Highlights
Diarrhoeal diseases, mostly caused by foodborne or waterborne microbial pathogens, are leading causes of illness and deaths in developing countries, killing an estimated 1.9 million people annually at the global level
Of the 127 samples, cultures of fingernail contents were found to be positive for coagulase-negative staphylococci (41.7%), S. aureus (16.5%), Klebsiella species (5.5%), Escherichia coli (3.1%), Serratia species (1.6%), Citrobacter species (0.8%), and Enterobacter species (0.8%)
29.1% and 3.1% of the 127 subjects were positive for stool parasites and enteropathogenic bacterial species respectively
Summary
Diarrhoeal diseases, mostly caused by foodborne or waterborne microbial pathogens, are leading causes of illness and deaths in developing countries, killing an estimated 1.9 million people annually at the global level. An estimated one-third of the population are affected by it can be expected that a large number of illnesses remain under-reported as only the most serious cases are usually investigated. Many foodborne illnesses share common symptoms and cannot be distinguished by the symptoms alone. Diagnosis of a foodborne illness can only be made after considering the recent foodconsumption history of a patient and performing proper laboratory tests for disease-producing parasites, bacteria, and bacterial toxins [3]. Health departments may not detect food-borne illness for several reasons.
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