Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka

Abstract

The study was conducted between November 2019 to Febuary 2020 and examined the presence of Staphylococcusaureus in two of Lusaka-based Correctional facilities namely, Mwembeshi Maximum and Lusaka Central Correctional facilities. The study considered the isolation and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Staphylococcus aureus, contaminating correctional facility kitchens, in Lusaka Province, Zambia.A total of seventy-five (n=75) swab samples were collected from both facilities from table tops, food preparation table, sink washing area, cutlery and effluent discharge point. Probable Staphylococcusisolates were identified biochemicallywith 39 isolates being confirmed asS. aureus.

The confirmed thirty nine (39) S. aureus isolateswere then subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. The antibiotic susceptibility test revealed that the isolates had high resistance to antibiotics commonly used in both human and animal medicine especially to nalidixic acid and chloramphenicol.

The study confirmedthe presence of Staphylococcusaureus in correctional kitchen environments. The isolatedStaphylococcusaureus was multidrug resistant thereby posing a risk to inmates who are lodged in the two facilities which were under the study, and the officers that work in these two correctional facilities. The risk could extend to the families of officers who interact with the inmates. However, the study did not document Methicillin resistantStaphylococcusaureus as it was not detected from the isolates that were subjected to the Polymerase Chain Reaction. This therefore, requires further investigation of Staphylococcusaureusin other correctional facilities as the identified specie is of public health concern in the spread of pathogenic Staphylococci and AMR bacteria. The other significance of the presence of S. aureus in food or in a kitchen environment is in food safety where it can cause food poisoning in the kitchen environment. The study recommends a broader research on the prevalence of AMR Staphylococcus aureus and other related food pathogensspecies in Zambian correctional facilities as well as a study of food safety and hygiene in correctional setups