Environmental Hygiene Practices Research Articles

Training of Food Providers for Improved Environmental Conditions of Food Service Outlets in Urban Area Nigeria

Environmental conditions and hygiene practices under which foods are prepared and served for public consumption are a matter of concern. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of training of food providers on environmental conditions of food service outlets (FSO) in and around a university community in Southwestern Nigeria. Structured questionnaire and “Spot Check Observation” (SCO) were used to assess the hygiene practices and environmental condition of the FSO respectively. Sixteen (16) High Density Food Service Outlets (HDFSO) and twelve (12) Low Density Food Service Outlets (LDFSO) were investigated. From the findings, mean score of SCO for HDFSO was low (2.93 ± 0.09) compared to LDFSO (4.32 ± 0.56) (p = 0.014). There were significant differences in source of cooking water (p = 0.003), solid waste disposal method (p = 0.031), liquid waste disposal method (p = 0.023) and toilet facilities (p = 0.001) between HDFSO and LDFSO. Significant differences existed in the environmental hygiene between HDFSO and LDFSO (p 40 years of age were more likely to score high in SCO in HDFSO than the other age groups (OR = 1.80, 95%CI = 1.21, 2.68). Those with tertiary education were twice more likely to score high in SCO compared to those with lower educational qualifications in LDFSO (OR = 2.03, 95%CI = 1.48 2.78). Those who earned above ?40,000.00 were more likely to have higher SCO among both categories. A 3-day food safety workshop was organized among both groups at different times, three months later, SCO was conducted and scores improved greatly. Constant training of food service providers is important to improving the environmental condition of food service outlets in high-density urban areas in order to ensure food safety.

Prevalence of diarrhea and associated risk factors among children under-five years of age in Eastern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Diarrhea remains a major cause of mortality in children under 5 years of age in Sub-Saharan countries in Africa. Risk factors for diarrhea vary by context and have important implications for developing appropriate strategies to reduce the burden of the disease. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of diarrhea and associated risk factors among children un-der 5 years of age in Kersa district, located in Eastern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1456 randomly selected households with at least one child under 5 years of age. A questionnaire and an observational check list were used for col-lecting information on socio-economic charac-teristics, environmental hygiene and behavioral practices, and occurrence of diarrhea among children under 5 years of age. Logistic regres-sion was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio of 95% confidence interval. The two-week prevalence of diarrhea among children under 5 years of age was 22.5% (95% CI: 20.3-24.6). Improper refuse disposal practices (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.20-4.03), lack of hand washing facilities (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.29-2.86), living in rural area (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.12-3.31), the presence of two or more siblings in a household (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.33-2.28), and age of the child (OR= 2.25, 95% CI; 1.5-3.36) were the major risk factors for diarrhea. This study demonstrated that diarrhea morbidity was relatively high among children under 5 years of age residing in Eastern Ethiopia. Efforts to reduce childhood diarrhea should focus on improving household sanitation, personal hygiene, and child birth spacing.

DIARRHOEAL MORBIDITY PREVALENCE IN UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND HYGIENE PRACTICES IN DANGILA ZURIA WOREDA, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Background and Aims: Though the relationship between environmental and hygiene risk factors, and the occurrence of diarrhoea in children have been documented elsewhere, there are limited studies in Ethiopia in general and in Dangila Zuria Woreda in particular. The present study aimed to assess under-five diarrheal morbidity prevalence associated with environmental factors and hygiene practices. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Dangila Zuria Woreda from March 24-April 21, 2010. 520 mothers of index under-five children living in systematically taken households from 7 randomly selected Kebeles out of 28 in the Woreda constituted the study population. Data were collected using structured and pre-tested questionnaire, entered into a computer, edited and analysed using SPSS version 15.0. Stepwise logistic regression model was used to calculate the Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval for the different risk factors. Results: Out of 520 sampled mother-child pairs, 498 participated in the study giving a response rate of 95.8%. Prevalence of diarrheal morbidity over a period of two weeks preceding the study was about 24.9%. In the bivariate analysis, a number of risk factors including latrine condition, presence of handwashing facility (P<0.001) and latrine availability, all family latrine use, reason to use latrine as excreta dangerous, proper child faeces disposal, mothers’ handwashing practice and handwashing with soap after defecation (P<0.05) appeared to be significantly associated with under-five childhood diarrheal morbidity. However, all family latrine use, reason to use latrine as excreta dangerous, proper child faeces disposal, mothers’ handwashing practice and handwashing with soap after defecation were the only significant variables on multivariate analyses (P< 0.05). Conclusions: As diarrhoea morbidity was major problem among under-five children in the Woreda, continuous, regular and targeted hygiene education programs are very essential in order to bring about behavioral change and reduce the risk of childhood diarrhoeal morbidity.

The Environmental Sanitation, Hygienic Practices and the Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitism among Schoolchildren

This paper presents the prevalence of parasitic infection three weeks after a de-worming process in August 2010 of a community in Valencia, Bukidnon, Philippines. Using mixed methods, the authors obtained data from the 203 schoolchildren and the parents of the infected school children. Thirteen schoolchildren had parasitic infections, and hookworm was the most prevalent parasite observed. This suggests resistant infection or rapid reinfection after the de-worming process. The infection could have occurred especially with the children playing barefooted in contaminated watery areas. The free-living pets that came in and out of their houses could have contributed to the rapid reinfection. The 13 infected children had cough and colds, abdominal pain, manifested pallor, and suffered body weakness. Five of the infected children experienced loss of appetite and four had BMI below the normal range based onthe Philippine BMI standards. No differences were found in the environmental sanitation and hygienic practices between those schoolchildren who were (13) and were not (190) infected with parasites. The parents interviewed reacted with wonder, worry, and anger, and received confirmation for their suspicions about their children’s condition. They were happy that May 2011 is scheduled for another deworming procedure.

The Association of Contact Lens Solution Use and Acanthamoeba Keratitis

To investigate Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) risk factors. Diagnosis of AK, a rare but serious corneal infection, has recently increased significantly at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Cornea Service. Retrospective case-control study. settings: University, tertiary care hospital. patients: Fifty-five AK cases with contact lens use were diagnosed between May 1, 2003 and September 15, 2006. Clinic-matched controls with contact lens use were recruited. Subjects completed surveys targeting lens hygiene, contact lens solution use, and water exposure. main outcome measure: Acanthamoeba keratitis. Thirty-nine (73.6%) cases and 113 (65.3%) controls participated; 38 cases had complete contact lens data. Thirty-five of 38 cases (92.1%) and 47 of 100 controls (47.0%) used soft lenses. Analysis was performed on 30 cases and 39 controls with matched pairs with soft lens use. Exclusive use of Advance Medical Optics (AMO) Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose Solution was independently associated with AK in multivariable analysis (55.2% vs 10.5%; odds ratio [OR], 16.67; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.11 to 162.63; P = .008). However, 38.8% of cases reported no use of AMO Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose Solution either alone or in combination with other solutions. Although not statistically significant, additional hygiene-related variables (solution "reuse," lack of "rubbing," and showering with lenses) suggest a pattern of risk. AMO Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose Solution use is independently associated with AK among soft contact lens users. However, it does not explain all cases, suggesting additional factors. Further research into environmental risk factors and hygiene practices is warranted, especially considering this is the second outbreak of an atypical, contact lens-related infection.

Environmental sanitation conditions and health impact: a case-control study.

This epidemiological investigation examines the impact of several environmental sanitation conditions and hygiene practices on diarrhea occurrence among children under five years of age living in an urban area. The case-control design was employed; 997 cases and 999 controls were included in the investigation. Cases were defined as children with diarrhea and controls were randomly selected among children under five years of age. After logistic regression adjustment, the following variables were found to be significantly associated with diarrhea: washing and purifying fruit and vegetables; presence of wastewater in the street; refuse storage, collection and disposal; domestic water reservoir conditions; feces disposal from swaddles; presence of vectors in the house and flooding in the lot. The estimates of the relative risks reached values up to 2.87. The present study revealed the feasibility of developing and implementing an adequate model to establish intervention priorities in the field of environmental sanitation.

Improvement of environmental health and hygiene practices - case study in the Northern Province

The primary purpose of an improved water supply and sanitation is the achievement of acceptable health and hygiene standards as well as the sustainable improvement of the environment. Many governments recognize this and so they budget for large sums of money to improve these services to the communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the different gaps in environmental health and hygiene practices with the aim of suggesting a strategy of improving this in the Northern Province of South Africa. To do this, 231 households and 30 schools were surveyed. Workshops and visits to different government departments were also used. This paper reports the results from this study which indicate that the situation in schools was not any better than that in households, with more than 90% of the villages still dependent on the unimproved pit latrines and 56,6% relying on standpipes which were (70% of the time) non-operational. The main problems identified seem to those associated with implementation and maintenance. The study concludes that with proper training of the water committees and their active involvement with the government and NGOs, environmental health and hygiene problems can be minimized or eliminated.

Disinfectant and antibiotic activities: a comparative analysis in Brazilian hospital bacterial isolates

Nosocomial infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. It has been shown that appropriate environmental hygienic and disinfection practices can be very helpful to hospital infection control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal activity of some disinfectants against antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant hospital bacterial isolates. The susceptibility of 27 clinical isolates to disinfectants and antibiotics was determined by the Association of Official Analytical Chemist’s (AOAC) Use-Dilution method and by the Kirby-Bauer method, respectively. All strains tested were susceptible to sodium hypochlorite, glutaraldehyde and to the association quaternary ammonium - formaldehyde - ethyl alcohol disinfectants. However, the susceptibility of strains to phenol and to one quaternary ammonium compound was variable. Among twenty-one antibiotic-multiresistant strains (methicillin-resistant staphylococci, Enterococcus spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens and Escherichia coli) eleven (52%) and eight (38%) strains were resistant to the quaternary ammonium and phenol compounds, respectively. Among six isolates that demonstrated susceptibility to antibiotics (staphylococci, Enterococcus spp, P. mirabilis, E. cloacae and E. coli) two strains (33%) showed resistance to these disinfectants. The results demonstrated the lack of correlation between antibiotic-susceptibility and susceptibility to disinfectants in hospital strains.

Recurrent outbreaks of giardiasis in a child day care center, Wisconsin.

In the 19-month period September 1983-March 1985, three outbreaks of giardiasis occurred in one large child day care center. Control measures instituted during each outbreak included case finding; pharmacologic treatment and follow-up testing of stool specimens for cases of giardia infection in day care children and staff, and their household contacts; facilitating and stressing personal and environmental hygiene, including altering diapering practices and teaching appropriate hand washing techniques. In the first, second, and third outbreaks, overall attack rates (stool analysis positive for Giardia lamblia) were determined for those persons with greater than or equal to 2 stool specimens submitted; attack rates in children were 47, 17, and 37 per cent, respectively; for tested staff, the rates were 35, 13, and 9 per cent; and for tested household contacts were 18, 9, and 5 per cent. Attack rates were highest for ambulatory diapered children, children attending the day care center greater than or equal to 40 hours per week, and children who were infected with G. lamblia in the most recent previous outbreak. Despite extensive efforts to identify cases, a cure rate of greater than 90 per cent in treated cases, and improvements in personal and environmental hygiene practices, G. lamblia infections recurred in outbreak proportions.

Risk-Factor Studies as an Epidemiologic Tool

Anecdotal and historical data strongly suggest that environmental factors and hygienic practices play a major role in chlamydial transmission and the maintenance of endemic blinding trachoma. They also suggest that relatively minor alterations in these practices can have a profound impact, virtually eliminating trachoma as a blinding disease. This is especially critical, since few countries can now afford extensive, ongoing chemoprophylaxis programs. Epidemiologic studies are now needed to identify the critical risk factors in each affected culture. A recent study that used this approach found that in one region the simple hygienic practice of face washing was strongly associated with trachoma status. The next task will be to carry out appropriately designed intervention trials to establish the significance of such a factor and the possibility of altering it.