Bacterial Contaminants Associated with the Hands of Food Handlers at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Food and water borne diseases are leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. This study identified bacterial agents contaminating the hands of food handlers at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. A total of 205 food handlers were recruited, their hands were swabbed, processed to isolate and identify bacteria using standard microbiological techniques. Of the two hundred and five (205) participants, fifty-five (55) were positive for bacterial contamination (26.8%). Fifty-nine (59) different bacteria strains were isolated; Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest with the frequency of 29(49%). Other foodborne pathogens isolated were Escherichia coli 4(6.8%) and Salmonella subspecies IIIb 1(1.7%). It has been shown from this study that a significant proportion of food handlers’ hands were contaminated with bacterial agents. Therefore, optimizing hand hygiene programmes among food handlers will help to minimize food contamination. Keywords: Hygiene, Food, contamination, Bacteria