Hamidon, Muhammad Hilmi and Nie, Tang Jin and Kamaludin, Kama Amima (2020) Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards the consumption of raw vegetables associated with parasitic infection among medical and social science students at Universiti Putra Malaysia. [Project Paper] (Submitted)
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Abstract
Fresh vegetables are widely regarded as essential to a healthy diet due to their nutritional value. They are a great source of vitamins, dietary fibre and minerals; and their regular consumption leads to reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke and certain cancers (Van Duyn & Pivonka, 2000). However, consuming raw vegetables without proper washing or sterilising first has shown to be a common way of parasites contamination (Slifko et al., 2000). In addition, a wide range of fresh vegetables have been implicated in several outbreaks of foodborne illness (Beuchat, 2002). These outbreaks had been increased in developing countries causing significant negative effects such as deaths, decrease in quality of life as well as huge monetary losses (Harapas et al., 2010). Vegetables are proven to be an important cause in transmission of parasites. Consumption of the contaminated vegetables is one of the risk factors that is involved in parasitic contamination in humans. Previous study revealed that samples of parasites have been found associated with some vegetable-borne outbreaks are protozoa cysts, oocysts, helminth and hookworms’ eggs (Erdogrul & Sener, 2005). A study conducted in a suburban market in Vietnam showed that 82 out of 317 vegetables were found to be contaminated with parasites, contamination being the highest in leafy vegetables followed by root vegetables and fruit vegetables (Uga et al., 2009). Another study conducted in Egypt showed that intestinal 2 parasites were detected in 31.7% of commonly consumed fresh vegetables (Said, 2012). One more study in Iran detected the parasitological contamination of market and farm vegetables to be as high as 38.5% and 48.9%, respectively (Olyaeyi et al., 2012). In Malaysia, a study found that consuming raw vegetables was a main risk factor for soil-transmitted helminths infection in three Orang Asli tribes. Out of 500 enrolled participants, 285 of the tribesmen were found to be infected with Trichuriasis (Anuar et al., 2012). The sociodemographic and poor hygienic status such as indiscriminate defecation and poor sewage disposal as well as using human faeces as fertiliser are the contributing factors of the high prevalence of parasitic diseases among this population. Another study conducted in Vietnam also demonstrated that many vegetables were also found to be contaminated with helminth eggs. They also found that ~80% of the respondents (121 out of 149 villagers) used animal and human faeces as fertiliser (Uga et. al., 2009). The transmission increased when they distributed or exported their vegetables to the other regions and put the other people under the risk. Vegetables are most commonly contaminated during different periods of production, most notably during harvesting, processing and distribution (Beuchat, 1998). The procedures involved the vegetables are being exposed to contact with multiple surfaces in the factory environment during transportation and to the airflow from dirty evaporators during storage which often contain microbial contamination (World Health Organisation, 2008). There is also an evidence that inadequate treated wastewater used for irrigation is responsible for the increasing rates of parasitic contamination. (Mahvi & Kia, 2006). Other studies suggested that by using night soil as fertiliser and faecal-contaminated water for irrigation increased the risk of parasites contamination on vegetables (Beuchat, 1998). 3 Other than factors mentioned above, food behaviours are also involved in the transmission of parasitic infections that are associated with raw vegetables consumption (Ramachandran et al., 2018). There is a strong belief that eating raw or undercooked vegetables will protect its nutrients, however without proper practices during preparation and consumption, the risk of infection is still there. Thus, it is suggested on how important it is to have good knowledge, attitude and practices in handling raw vegetables before consumption in a day-to-day routine in order to avoid infection. Therefore, this study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of raw vegetables consumption which is associated with parasitic infection among students in UPM.
| Item Type: | Project Paper |
|---|---|
| Faculty: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Science |
| Depositing User: | Ms Norafizah Radzuan |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Sep 2023 07:21 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2023 07:21 |
| URI: | http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1116 |
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