Food-borne disease prevalence in rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
Field | Value | |
Title | Food-borne disease prevalence in rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa | |
Creator | Bisholo, Khanya Z. Ghuman, Shanaz Haffejee, Firoza | |
Description | Background: The highest burden of food-borne diseases is in Africa. Despite this, food safety does not seem to be a major concern in many African countries. There is also a lack of concern within rural areas of South Africa.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of food-borne diseases in rural areas in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, by comparing data obtained from a cross-sectional survey and clinic records.Setting: The study was conducted in Ncera, Mpongo and Needscamp villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.Methods: In the first phase of the study, a random sample of household heads (n = 87) were interviewed to determine the prevalence of food-borne diseases between 2012 and 2014. In the second phase, registers from clinics serving the villages were screened for food-borne disease cases during the same time period.Results: A total of 109 (27.3%) household members fell ill because of food-borne diseases. Half (n = 56; 51.3%) of the respondents who fell ill because of food-borne diseases did not seek medical treatment for their illness. Of those who sought treatment, 19 (46%) attended primary health care clinics. However, examination of the clinic registers showed only four recorded cases of food-borne diseases.Conclusion: The prevalence of food-borne diseases in rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, was reported as high but the records in clinic registers are low, indicating a gap in the health care system. Monitoring of these diseases needs to improve. | |
Publisher | AOSIS | |
Date | 2018-09-27 | |
Identifier | 10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1796 | |
Source | African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 10, No 1 (2018); 5 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928 | |
Language | eng | |
Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/1796/2825
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/1796/2824
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/1796/2826
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/1796/2823
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