Survey of food safety awareness among HIV-positive individuals

Abstract

A survey was carried out by personal interview to assess the awareness of basic food hygiene and food safety amongst 77 HIV-positive individuals attending a single hospital. There was some confusion and lack of knowledge about aspects of food storage and despite the fact that 74% of subjects had modified their diet since learning their HIV status (mainly for nutritional reasons) only 25% reported receiving information on food safety. Of the subjects interviewed 96%, 66% and 23% were aware of the risks of infection from Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Cryptosporidium, respectively; although most were not aware of the UK Government's advice on the consumption of eggs, soft cheese, pâté and cook-chill foods. Over 40% of those interviewed reported that they did not drink tap water (most drank bottled water instead), but few were aware of infections potentially transmitted through water. Although pets represent a potential source of a wide variety of infectious agents, there was a high level of awareness of this problem. This study highlights the need for improving the availability of information on food hygiene and infections acquired through food and water to HIV-positive individuals.

Efficacy of a Food Safety Comic Book on Knowledge and Self-Reported Behavior for Persons Living with AIDS

“…Among the food safety objectives are to increase the proportion of consumers who follow key food safety practices and to reduce foodborne infections caused by Salmonella , Campylobacter , Yersinia , and Vibrio species, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes . Greater attention is needed to this basic health issue since AIDS patients are a highly vulnerable population for foodborne disease due to their immunocompromised condition, their lack of food safety knowledge [16,24], and their higher risk for morbidity and mortality [5–7]. Food safety educational materials should be more broadly available and incorporated into prevention counseling of AIDS patients along with other routine prevention messages such as those directed at immunization, medication adherence, and avoidance of STDs.…”

Asaia sp., an Unusual Spoilage Organism of Fruit-Flavored Bottled Water

“…Furthermore, a recent study has demonstrated a high consumption (40%) of bottled water by human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients (2). To date, there have been relatively few reports employing the use of molecular identification methods, particularly the use of rRNA identification techniques, to identify contaminating bacterial and fungal agents in bottled water.…”

Measuring Food and Nutrition Security: Tools and Considerations for Use Among People Living with HIV

“…What few studies exist deal primarily with surveys of self-reported knowledge of food safety measures and hand-washing. Studies have shown that PLHIV lack knowledge of food safety measures [90]. In Ghana, Wiig and Smith [79] (2007) found that only 22 % of PLHIV boiled their water and only 66 % always reheated leftovers.…”

“…Heathcock's [90] (1998) self-developed survey of 77 HIVpositive people in a hospitalized UK-based population showed that 96, 66, and 23 % were aware of the risk of infection from Salmonella, Listeria, and Cryptosporidium, respectively, but few were aware of infections transmitted through water. Program evaluation studies in the US have found home-delivered meal programs for PLHIV to be strongly adherent to food safety guidelines and have evaluated the effectiveness of educational tools [91].…”