Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Research Article

Assessment of Bacterial Hand Contamination and Associated Factors among Food Handlers Working in the Student Cafeterias of Jimma Main Campus, Jimma, South West Ethiopia

Tsegaye Assefa¹, Haymanot Tasew¹, Beyene Wondafrash¹and Jemal Beker^2,*

¹Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences and Pathology College of Public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia

²Department of Nursing, College of Public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia

*Corresponding Author:

Jemal Beker
Department of Nursing
College of Public Health and Medical Sciences
Jimma University, Ethiopia
Tel: +251932409399
E-mail: jemalbeker@yahoo.com

Received date: December 16, 2014; Accepted date: April 03, 2015; Published date: April 07, 2015

Citation: Assefa T, Tasew H, Wondafrash B, Beker J (2015) Assessment of Bacterial Hand Contamination and Associated Factors among Food Handlers Working in the Student Cafeterias of Jimma University Main Campus, Jimma, South West Ethiopia. J Community Med Health Educ 5:345. doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000345

Copyright: © 2015 Assefa T, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background: Food borne diseases continue to be a major global health problem and are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Food handlers play a major role in the transmission of food borne pathogens via hands. This study aimed to assess the bacterial hand contamination and associated factors among food handlers working in the student cafeterias of Jimma University main campus.

Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2012 to April 2013 among food handlers working in the student cafeterias of Jimma University main campus. The data was collected by using structured questionnaire and observational checklist. Hand rinse samples was collected from participants and microbiologically examined for the presence of potential food borne bacterial contaminants using standard laboratory methods. The data was entered into a computer and analyzed using SPSS version-16.0 software.

Result: Among 230 food handlers, 114(49.6%) were tested positive for one or more potential food borne bacterial contaminants, and 73(31.7%) were tested positive for enteric pathogens. A total of 171 bacterial hand contaminants were isolated. S. aureus 54(23.5%), Klebsiella spp. 37(16.1%), E. coli 25(10.9%), Enterobacter spp. 21(9.1%), Citrobacter spp. 10(4.3%), Serratia marcescens 6(2.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 8(3.5%), Proteus spp. 5(2.2%), Providencia rettegri 3(1.3), and salmonella spp. 2(0.9%) were isolated with their corresponding prevalence rate. Bacterial hand contamination rate have significant association with service years (Chi-square=13.732, DF=4, P=0.008), age (χ2=11.308, P=0.010) and cleanness of outer garments (χ2=7.653, P=0.006).

Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasized the importance of food handlers’ hands as a potential vector for potential food borne bacterial contaminants which could constitute a potential risk to food borne outbreaks. New employees and young and inexperienced food handlers should be well trained on personal hygienic practices pointing out on the importance of hand hygiene and appropriate hand washing techniques.

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