Prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasites among food handlers in Medebay Zana District, North West Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Abstract

Introduction Several epidemiological studies suggest that the prevalence of intestinal parasites is high, especially in developing countries, and are amongst the major public healthchallenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa.The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and its associated factors among food handlers in Woreda Medebay Zana, Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 401 food handler individuals selected by systematic random sampling.Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the possible association between the independent variable and outcome variables. Statistical significance was declared at p- value <0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Result The prevalence of intestinal parasites was 33.2% within this sample.The dominant parasite were Entamoeba coli 50(37.4%), followed by Entamoeba histolytica/dispar 24(18%), Entamoeba hartmanni 18(13.5), Giardia lamblia 17(12.8%), Schistosoma mansoni 8(6%), Hymenolepis nana 7(5.3%), Enterviousvermicularies 6(4.5%) and Taenia species 3(2.5%). Conclusion This study revealed a high prevalence of intestinal parasites among food handlers for a range of intestinal parasites. The significant predictors weresource of water, washing hands before food preparation, washing hands with soap and water after visiting toilet, shower installation, washing body regularly, and eating raw vegetables.