Abstract
Background: Food-handling personnel play an important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of production, processing, storage and preparation. Mishandling and disregard of hygienic measures on their part may enable pathogens to come into contact with food and to cause illness in the consumers. Occasionally, food-handling personnel may transfer to food pathogens that they are carrying in or on their bodies.
Methods: In order to evaluate the role of persons who was working in food handling and processing centers, the study carried out in above-mentioned centers in Ramadan the west of Iran. A total of 938 stool samples collected of persons who were working in the restaurants, confectionaries, milk products stores, Chelo-Kabab houses, sandwich shops etc. All samples examined by culture for entero-pathogens bacteria and by formalin-ether concentration technique for ova and parasites.
Results: A total of 21 samples were suspected to bacteria that, finally 7 samples confirmed by sere-typing identified. These were Shigella boydii (5 samples) and Shigella flexeneri (2 samples). Over 74% of stool samples contained one species parasite. Entamoeba coli (45%) was the most common parasite followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (39%), E.histolytica (14.5%), and Giardia lamblia (9%). Prevalence rate for helminthes, pathogenic and non-pathogenic protozoa were 43%, 26%, and 52.7% respectively. The prevalence of intestinal parasites, as well as intestinal helminthes in persons who had three-monthly check-up and health care were significantly less than others (p < 0.02) .
Conclusion: This study showed food handling personnel are an important source of E. histolytica, G. lamblia pinworm and Shigella distribution in this city.