Feleke Daniel Getacher, Bisetegn Habtye, Zewudu Getamesay, Alemu Yohannes, Feleke Seifegebriel Teshome
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
J Trop Med. 2023 Jan 14;2023:2831175. doi: 10.1155/2023/2831175. eCollection 2023.
Food handlers should be screened periodically for intestinal parasitic infections, and they should be treated to reduce intestinal parasite transmission to consumers through contaminated foods and drinks. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of intestinal parasitic infection among food handlers in Woldia town, North-East Ethiopia.
A community-basedcross-sectional study was conducted among food handlers in Woldia town, North-East Ethiopia. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics and intestinal parasite-associated risk factors. Microscopic examination of a stool sample was performed using wet-mount and formol-ether concentration techniques. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software packages. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between intestinal parasitic infections and associated risk factors. In all comparisons, value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among food handlers in Woldia town was 14.3%. Six different intestinal parasites were detected. The majority of the parasites identified were helminthic infections 37/52 (71%). was the most dominant parasite (7.7%), followed by (2.7%) and (1.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that intestinal parasitic infection had a statistically significant association with food handlers' habits of hand washing without soap after latrine use ( < 0.01), swimming habit (=0.03), and using a common knife ( < 0.01).
This study revealed a relatively high prevalence of intestinal parasites among food handlers in Woldia town. Strict and standard hygienic and sanitary practices should be implemented by food handlers. Moreover, food handlers should be screened for intestinal parasitic infection, and health education should be given periodically.
食品从业人员应定期接受肠道寄生虫感染筛查，并接受治疗，以减少通过受污染的食品和饮料将肠道寄生虫传播给消费者的情况。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚东北部沃尔迪亚镇食品从业人员肠道寄生虫感染的患病率及相关危险因素。
在埃塞俄比亚东北部沃尔迪亚镇的食品从业人员中开展了一项基于社区的横断面研究。使用结构化问卷收集社会人口学特征和肠道寄生虫相关危险因素。采用湿片法和甲醛乙醚浓缩法对粪便样本进行显微镜检查。使用SPSS 20.0统计软件包对数据进行分析。进行双变量和多变量分析以研究肠道寄生虫感染与相关危险因素之间的关联。在所有比较中，P值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
沃尔迪亚镇食品从业人员肠道寄生虫感染的总体患病率为14.3%。检测到六种不同的肠道寄生虫。鉴定出的大多数寄生虫为蠕虫感染37/52（71%）。蛔虫是最主要的寄生虫（7.7%），其次是钩虫（2.7%）和鞭虫（1.4%）。多变量逻辑回归分析表明，肠道寄生虫感染与食品从业人员便后不用肥皂洗手的习惯（P<0.01）、游泳习惯（P = 0.03）以及使用公用刀具（P<0.01）具有统计学意义的关联。
本研究显示，沃尔迪亚镇食品从业人员中肠道寄生虫感染率相对较高。食品从业人员应实施严格和标准的卫生及环境卫生措施。此外，应对食品从业人员进行肠道寄生虫感染筛查，并定期开展健康教育。
