Assessment of Bacterial Hand Contamination and Associated Factors Among Food Handlers Working in Catering Establishments of Hosanna Town, Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia, 2023

Abstract

Ashenafi Woime, Rebie Kedir and Andualem Girma

Background: Hands are the major source of contamination, which can never be totally free of microorganisms, especially bacteria. Food can become contaminated by dirty hands if there is a lack of proper hygiene among the food handlers when handling food. Human hands are in regular contact with the surrounding environment, and a variety of pathogens can reach the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, eyes, and genitals of humans through the hands and consequently contribute to foodborne illness outbreaks.

Objective: This study assessed bacterial hand contamination and associated factors among food handlers working in catering establishments in Hossana Town, South Ethiopia.

Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among food handlers at catering establishments in Hosanna town, Hadiya zone, South Ethiopia, from March 2023 to May 2023. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to allocate study participants into their catering establishment, and then a random sampling technique was applied to recruit participants. After getting signed consent, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic and potential risk factors. Data was entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using the SPSS version 20 statistical package, and descriptive statistics were used to describe variables. Chi-square was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable.

Result: The overall prevalence of bacterial positivity is 18/156 (11.5%), and among the identified bacterial isolates, 10/156 (6.4%) were Staphylococcus aurous, followed by Escherichia coli (5/156 (3.2%)), and 3/156 (1.9%) were Salmonella typhi. The isolated pathogens had associations with those who were not trained in food preparation and handling, those who had no clean nails observed, poor hand washing after sneezing, poor hand washing after touching waste, and those who had no habit of hand washing after latrine usage (defecation) (p < 0.001). The finding implies the need for strengthening the personal hygiene and redressal training of food handlers on personal hygiene guidelines to improve practice during food processing.

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