In a comprehensive survey evaluating the health of food handlers in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, it was revealed that these workers frequently encounter occupational hazards such as typhoid, skin infections, jaundice, cut injuries, and burns. This survey, encompassing the participation of 2,000 food handlers, is part of the Sanitation and Fitness Evaluation (SAFE) initiative by the Department of Community Medicine at KMCT Medical College, Mukkom. The KMCT Medical College collaborated with the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association’s district committee to launch this project as a health surveillance measure for food handlers, aiming to strengthen food safety and public health standards in the region. As a result, health cards with a one-year validity were issued to participating workers.
The demographic composition of the survey depicted that 15.6% of the participants were women, with an average age of 39.86 years, and that 20.1% were migrants from outside Kerala. In terms of occupational roles, 49.4% served as cooks, while 28.4% worked as food servers. Commonly reported health issues included paronychia, a finger infection affecting 6.1% of participants, contact dermatitis (3%), cut injuries (3.3%), burns (2%), and onychomycosis, a fungal nail infection (1.1%). Additionally, communicable diseases such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea were each observed in a small portion of the population: 2.5%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively. Alarmingly, 7.4% and 1.4% of the participants reported having a history of jaundice and typhoid, respectively.
The vaccination status of these food handlers suggests a need for improvement, with only 35.7% having received the tetanus toxoid vaccine. The uptake for typhoid and Hepatitis A vaccines is critically low, noted at 9.1% and 2.1%, respectively. Laboratory tests highlighted that 7.6% of the surveyed workers were reactive for Salmonella typhi ‘O’, the bacterium responsible for typhoid, while 0.2% tested positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen. This underscores the necessity for routine health monitoring and the implementation of effective vaccination policies, especially given the recent surge in Hepatitis A infections and the possible role of food handlers in its transmission.
According to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of Kerala’s Health Department, foodborne illnesses in Kozhikode have seen a significant rise from 5.3% in 2022 to 10.1% in 2023. Food contamination is now linked to nearly half of all reported disease outbreaks in the area. Addressing this issue, the survey and corresponding health camps for food handlers were organized by medical professionals T. Jayakrishnan, Sruthikrishna P, and Abhin, ensuring comprehensive insight into the occupational health vulnerabilities prevalent among workers.
The findings of this essential survey were formally handed over by Vijish Venugopal, principal of KMCT Medical College, to P.K. Sasidharan, former head of Medicine & Hematology at Government Medical College, Kozhikode. These findings stress the urgent need for policy action towards improving food handlers’ health and through it, bolstering overall community sanitation and disease prevention practices. With these measures, authorities hope to curb the rising tide of foodborne diseases, reinforcing public confidence in food safety standards throughout Kozhikode.
Original Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/survey-finds-occupational-health-issues-among-food-handlers-in-keralas-kozhikode/article69295041.ece
Category : Kerala
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Publish Date: 2025-03-06 10:22:00
