Survey finds occupational health issues among food handlers in Kerala’s Kozhikode

Survey in Kozhikode district reveals occupational health issues among food handlers, emphasizing the need for vaccination and monitoring.

A survey conducted among 2,000 food handlers in Kozhikode district of Kerala has found prevalence of occupational problems such as typhoid, skin infections, jaundice, cut injuries and burns among them.

It was conducted as part of Sanitation and Fitness Evaluation (SAFE) project undertaken by the Department of Community Medicine at KMCT Medical College, Mukkom, in collaboration with the district committee of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association. The project was conceived as a surveillance program for food handlers to strengthen food safety and public health. The food handlers were later issued health cards of one-year validity.

Among the participants, 15.6% were female, with an average age of 39.86, and 20.1% were from outside Kerala. The majority worked as cooks (49.4%) or food servers (28.4%).

The occupational health issues found among them include paronychia, a finger infection that occurs around the fingernail or toenail (6.1%), contact dermatitis (3%), cut injuries (3.3%), burns (2.0%) and onychomycosis, a fungal infection on the nail (1.1%). Communicable diseases such as fever, vomiting and diarrhoea were reported in 2.5%, 0.3% and 0.2% of the respondents, respectively. Of the total food handlers examined, 7.4% and 1.4% had a history of jaundice and typhoid, respectively, ever in life.

Among them, 35.7% had received the tetanus toxoid (TT) vaccine, while typhoid and Hepatitis A vaccination rates stood at a mere 9.1% and 2.1%, respectively. Laboratory screenings further revealed that 7.6% of the participants tested reactive for Salmonella typhi ‘O’ that causes typhoid fever and 0.2% tested positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen that causes Hepatitis B infection affecting the liver. The study suggested that in the wake of the recent increase in Hepatitis A infections, and the possibility that food handlers may be a source of transmission, it is mandatory to monitor their health parameters to implement vaccination policies.

Sources told The Hindu that the incidence of food-borne illnesses in Kozhikode surged from 5.3% in 2022 to 10.1% in 2023, according to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Health department. Nearly half of all reported disease outbreaks now are linked to contaminated food.

The camps for the food handlers were organised and conducted by T. Jayakrishnan, Sruthikrishna P, and Abhin. The survey report was handed over by Vijish Venugopal, principal, KMCT Medical College, to P.K. Sasidharan, former head of the department, Medicine & Hematology, Government Medical College, Kozhikode.