Salmonella typhi infection among waste collectors in the A blekuma north municipality

Abstract

Salmonella typhi is the major cause of typhoid fever, a systemic bacterial illness of public health importance. This study examined the risk factors and prevalence of Salmonella typhi infection among waste collectors in the Ablekuma North Municipality. A cross-sectional approach and stratified sampling method were employed in this study. Pre-tested questionnaire covering socio-demographic information, level of knowledge on S. typhi and personal hygiene practices was administered to each respondent. A total of 60 respondents were recruited and screened against S. typhi surface antigen using the Widal slide agglutination test. S. typhi prevalence of 31.67% was recorded among the waste collectors. Respondents showed good level of knowledge on typhoid fever as well as good personal hygiene. However, factors such as number of working years, finger biting, irregular hand washing without soap after handling waste, level of monthly income, and lack of personal protective equipment were observed as predisposing factors to typhoid fever disease. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that waste recycling companies must provide personal protective clothing and enforce their usage while the Municipal Assembly should educate the workers in the waste management sector on personal hygiene practices and sanitation related diseases in order to minimize the risk of acquiring infectious diseases in their line of duty.