Studies on public health and hygiene condition of retailers at fish markets in south-central Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a fish producing country from the ancient history due to its deltaic nature agro-ecologically. Accordingly fish marketing systems developed in traditional systems sincelong. This study was conducted in two retail fish markets located in Rajbari and Barisal Sadar Upazila in the south central region of Bangladesh focusing public health and hygiene condition of retailers. The questionnaire interview with 30 retailers and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools were used to get the information from the retailers and other value chain stakeholders. About 13% of the retailers had no education, however 60% had primary level and 27% had secondary level of education. Although many of them were literate, their knowledge and practice about public health, hygiene and sanitation was found to be very poor. Due to lack of knowledge on public health, they were found to be infected by various contagious diseases such as common cold (cough, coryza etc.), diarrhoea, lesion (lesion on hands, between fingers, on the tip of the fingers, between toes, on the nail and tip of the toes etc.) and skin disease. About 57% of them were affected with lesion on hands, while 33, 23, 7, 13 and 10% were affected with lesion between fingers, between toes, on the tip fingers, on the nail and tip of toes and skin disease on legs, respectively.Fish markets operated by them were ill-managed, unhygienic and unscientific. So, the hygiene and sanitation system of retail fish markets were very poor and unhealthy. Market should have adequate water supply, toilets and other sanitation facilities. Due to poor infrastructural facilities in harvest and post-harvest, landing, handling, preservation, distribution, marketing and quality assurance, the fish retailers suffered from serious health problems. Good personal hygiene management is therefore essential for the safe handling and preparation of fish and fisheries products. To ensure this, quick and proper action should be needed by the government, particularly by the local government and rural development (LGRD) authorities.

The Role of Informal Education in Fisher Women's Struggle for Survival in the Fish Market

“…Despite their low literacy level, these women fish vendors have learned fish cutting, processing, and price negotiation techniques through ancestral rituals passed down from generation to generation. Infrastructural facilities, particularly fish landing centers, and wholesale and retail markets, were inadequate and unsanitary, posing serious threats to public health on a regular basis (Alam et al, 2016) [20]. In terms of hygiene, we discovered that the situation at Bazaar Samiti was the worst because there was no adequate supply of water, no dumping site for fish residue, an inadequate drainage system, and freely roaming stray dogs.…”

“…Literacy level is critical for effective participation and operational skill in all income-generating activities. It was assumed that the education of fish retailers would help them gain better access to relevant technical information [20]. In this study, it was discovered that only a few of the male fishermen are literate, with only a high school education.…”

Incidence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in fish farms and markets in Dinajpur, Bangladesh

“…Among the samples collected about 68.8% and 21.52% isolates were E. coli positive. Alam et al, (2014) conducted study in two retail fish markets located in Rajbari and Barisal Sadar Upazila in the south central region of Bangladesh focusing public health and hygiene condition of retailers and indicated that due to poor infrastructural facilities, poor washing facilities, landing, handling, distribution, marketing and quality assurance, the baskets were contaminated by pathogenic bacteria.…”

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“…Akinjogunla et al [13] identified stream as a source of contamination to fish products. Stream is a popular water source for processing fish as revealed by Alam et al [21] who confirmed that about half of fish mongers in Bangladesh used stream water to process their fish. Majority (68.2%) of the respondents in this study reported that they washed their hands at the end of the day, 38.6% said they carried out hand-washing after using the toilet, 34.1% stated that they washed their hands before handling fish while 34.1% revealed that they washed their hands after handling fish.…”