Asymptomatic Carriers of Enteric Pathogens and the Risk Factors among Food Handlers in a Rural Setting in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Presence of enteric pathogens in humans has been described as one of the most common challenges of developing countries. Materials and Methods: Stool samples were collected from 540 randomly selected workers in the hospitality industry in Etim-Ekpo and were subjected to microscopic and bacteriological examination to detect asymptomatic carriers of enteric pathogens. A structured questionnaire was used to collect additional data from the subjects. Each of these subjects aged between 18 and 56 years, gave informed oral consent before samples were collected. Results: The results show presence of the following enteric bacterial pathogens: Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter sp and Campylobacter sp. Intestinal parasites detected were ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Taenia sp and Trichuris trichuria, cysts of Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia. The distribution of the enteric pathogens was

Prevalence of enteric bacteria and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among food handlers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia

“…This is consistent with the reported prevalence in a study done in South Ethiopia (10%) [12], Nigeria (17.2%) [13] and India (13.3%) [14]. However, it is higher than the reported prevalence by other studies in Gondar, Ethiopia (3.1%) [15], Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (3.5%) [16], Nigeria (6.9%) [17] and Jordan (7.4%) [18]. The observed differences in rates of bacterial isolation could be attributed to differences in food handling and santiation practice, study period and geographical varation [14, 15].…”

“…The isolation rate of Shigella species (10.1%) in our study was in agreement with the study conducted in India (9.3%) [14]. Conversely, this finding was lower than the results of a study conducted in Nigeria (15.5%) [19], and higher compared to similar studies conducted in Gondar, Ethiopia (3.1%) [15], Jimma, Ethiopia (0.9%) [7], Nigeria (2.2%) [17], and Iran (0.9%) [20]. This may indicate poor hygien, both personal and food handling practices and may lead to outbreaks of bacillary dysentery to the public [14].…”

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Salmonella and Shigella among food handlers working in food establishment at Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia

“…However, the prevalence of Salmonella species in the present study is lower than the prevalence reported from Nigeria (5.5–17%) [22, 23], Arba Minch, Southern Ethiopia (6.9%) [15], Saudi Arabia (3.86%) [24] and Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia (3.6%) [25]. The finding of current study is high compared to report from Hawassa, Ethiopia [26], Gondar, Ethiopia [27], Makah, Saudi Arabia [28], Jordan [29], Thailand [30], Japan [31], Dilla, Southern Ethiopia [32] and Nigeria [2]. The difference in the prevalence of Salmonella species among food handlers observed across different countries and within in country may be due to laboratory methods used, level of education, economic status, and characteristics of study participants.…”

“…Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified more than 400 food-related infections, among which 20% are due to food handlers [1]. The spread of disease through food handlers is a common and persistent problem worldwide and food handlers may be carrying a wide range of enteric pathogen and have implicated in the transmission of many infections to the public [2].…”