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Background
Various studies have addressed the relationship between intestinal parasitism and associated risk factors in food handlers. Very few studies have done in Ethiopia in general and none exist in Wachemo town, Southern Ethiopia. The present study aimed to investigate intestinal parasitic infections and related risks among food handlers of Wachemo University students’ cafeteria.
Methods
Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 212 randomly selected food handlers from February-March, 2019. Structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic and related risk factors. Standard laboratory procedures were employed to collect stool and finger specimens and analyzed for intestinal parasites using standard methods. The data were entered into a computer, edited and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 20.0. Stepwise logistic regression model was used to calculate the Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval for the different risk factors.
Results
From 212, the majority 63.7 % were females and 48.1% attended grades 9-10. Of the stool and finger nail specimens examined, about 29.7 % and 5.6% were positive for different parasites, respectively. The most prevalent parasite is Ascaris lumbercoids (12.7%) followed by Hookworms (6.6%), Giardia lamblia (4.7%), Taenia saginata (2.4%), and Mixed infection (3.3%). Although several factors showed significant association with intestinal parasitism on bivariate analysis, sex, education, finger nail status and hand washing with soap and water after toilet use were the only significant variables on multivariate analysis (P< 0.05).
Conclusions
Though prevalence of intestinal parasites among food handlers is moderate, still appropriate intervention programmes need to be formulated focused on identified risk factors to avoid further infection transmission to students and the general population.