Contribution of wastewater irrigated vegetables to the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection among female farmers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Autor: Gurmassa BK; Water and Health, Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. bethelhemkinfu@gmail.com.; College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia. bethelhemkinfu@gmail.com., Gari SR; Water and Health, Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia., Solomon ET; College of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia., Goodson ML; Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia., Walsh CL; School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, UK., Dessie BK; Water and Land Resource Center, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia., Alemu BM; Water and Health, Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Tropical medicine and health [Trop Med Health] 2024 Jun 06; Vol. 52 (1), pp. 41. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 06.
DOI: 10.1186/s41182-024-00604-5
Abstrakt: Background: Untreated or inadequately treated wastewater carrying human feces can host helminth eggs and larvae, contaminating the soil and plants that are irrigated with it. In Addis Ababa, farmers use untreated wastewater to grow vegetables; however, there are little data currently available published on vegetables' contribution to the prevalence of helminth among female farmers along the Akaki River, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa City in February 2022. A stratified random sampling method was used to sample farming households. The sample size for each district was determined by a proportional allocation to the total number of households in the area. Two hundred and fifty-two composite vegetable samples and 101 farmers' stool samples were collected and analyzed for helminth prevalence. Data on socio-demographics were collected by trained data collators using a structured questionnaire. Kato-Katz concentration was used to detect STH from a stool sample. Stata version 14.0 was used to process the data. Poisson regression was used to identify the association between STH prevalence in the vegetable and the farm's stool.
Results: Helminths were found in 67.5% of vegetables sampled and 20.8% of female farmers' stools. Ascaris lumbricoides eggs (vegetable 48.4% and stool 9.9%) were identified in all analyzed samples. Hookworm eggs (vegetable 13.1% and stool 8.9%) and Trichuris trichiura eggs (vegetable 5.9% and stool 2%) were also isolated. The total number of helminth eggs present in wastewater-irrigated vegetables and female farmers' stool had a positive association (p < 0.05) with a regression coefficient of 1.92 (95% CI = 1.56-2.28).
Conclusions: The study found a significant prevalence of helminth infections, particularly Ascaris lumbricoides, in stool and vegetable samples irrigated with wastewater. A clear association was found between vegetable production and a higher prevalence of helminth infections among female farmers. Therefore, it is important to ensure that farmers are educated in the importance of food washing and sanitation/hygiene practices when using wastewater irrigation for vegetable crops.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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