Study of intestinal parasites in food handlers in a tertiary care centre in Kanchipuram

Introduction: Food handlers with poor hygiene working in food establishment areas have been reported as a potential source of helminths & protozoans all over the world. Individuals with symptoms of parasitic infections are dangerous to the society as they transmit the infection without giving less attention to their hygiene and transmission of infection to others.2 Hence we conducted this present study to know the prevalence of parasitic infection among food handlers in our hospital. Materials and Methods: All food handlers who were employed in various food establishments were included in our study.Three faecal samples on alternate day were collected and transported to laboratory. Microscopic examination was done using normal saline and lugol's iodine.All the positive food handlers were subjected to health education and treatment given to them and repeat stool sample was collected after 3weeks. Result: Stool specimens collected from 96 food handlers. A total of 32 (33.33%) of workers were positive for parasitic infection.Among the 32 positive food handlers 20 (62.5%) were females and 12 (37.5%) were males. Among the food handlers, entamoeba histolytic 16(50.1%) is the common parasite isolated, and more common in food providers followed by Ascaris lumbricoides infection 7 (21.87%) in helpers in food services.Among the 32 positive food handlers 1 (3.12%) patient had mixed infection. No Acid fast parasites were detected among our food handlers. All the infected persons were treated on with a course of antihelminthics & were given health education regarding hand washing, use of PPE (Personal Protective equipments) and personal hygiene. Repeat stool sample was collected and screening was done after 3 weeks to rule out parasites and all the samples showed negative. Conclusion: Effective training and education of personal habits like hand washing, wearing of PPE and regular screening of parasites should be made mandatory in all hospital to control the intestinal parasitic infection.