Risk Analysis and Effective Factors of Pathogens on the Hands of Kindergarten Students in Istanbul - Turkey

Abstract

Persons are the primary performers for all food security systems and public health procedures, but humans do not have a standard configuration. The personal variables like age, gender, economic positions, psychological conditions, educations given by the family, life style and environment are the factors that determine main personal differences of humans. This situation can cause implementation differences for standard procedures as food security performances, educations related with food hygiene. Especially individual hygiene procedures must be taught to students are being educated in preschool programs very effectively and in entertaining ways. In this study, we aim to determine how the personal variables (age, gender, social and economic positions, hand washing habits etc) effect the microbiological load of the students'hands according to the chosen microbiological parameters statsitically (plate count, total coliform group bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp.) who are registered preschool education (kindergarten) programs of different schools in Istanbul. For this purpose, 10 preschool education programs (kindergartens) were visited during 3 months (visits were monthly). From each school 20 students were sampled. The samples were analyzed for the chosen microbiological parameters and the correlations were determined among the microbiological parameters and the individual variables of the students.