Factors Associated with Foodborne Pathogens among Food Handlers: A Case Study of Thika, Kiambu County, Kenya

Table 9

Bivariate análysis of the association between food handling practices and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens.

Variable	Foodborne pathogen		OR (95% CI)	χ^2	P-value
	+ve(n = 44)	−ve(n = 241)
Valid medical examination certificate
Yes	19 (10.6)	160 (89.4)	0.385 (0.200–0.740)	8.579	0.003
No	25 (23.6)	81 (76.4)	Ref
Washes hands with soap and water before handling food
Yes	17 (8.9)	175 (91.1)	0.237 (0.122–0.464)	9.540	<0.001
No	27 (29.0)	66 (71.0)	Ref
Wears gloves and hairnets when handling food
Yes	29 (16.1)	151 (83.9)	1.152 (0.586–2.265)	0.169	0.681
No	15 (14.3)	90 (85.7)	Ref
Chews/smokes while working
Yes	31 (16.7)	155 (83.3)	1.323 (0.658–2.662)	0.619	0.432
No	13 (13.1)	86 (86.9)	Ref
Works when having a cold
Yes	27 (14.4)	161 (85.6)	0.789 (0.406–1.532)	0.491	0.482
No	17 (17.5)	80 (82.5)	Ref
Handles food when having diarrhea
Yes	31 (16.8)	154 (83.2)	1.347 (0.670–2.710)	0.702	0.402
No	13 (13.0)	87 (87.0)	Ref
Cleans food contact surfaces before and after preparing food
Yes	24 (11.9)	178 (88.1)	0.425 (0.220–0.821)	6.046	0.010
No	20 (24.1)	63 (75.9)	Ref
Checks the expiry dates/shelf life of food
Yes	29 (15.6)	157 (84.4)	1.034 (0.525–2.036)	0.010	0.922
No	15 (15.2)	84 (84.8)	Ref
Boils or treats water before serving the customers
Yes	22 (10.7)	183 (89.3)	0.317 (0.164–0.614)	12.394	<0.001
No	22 (27.5)	58 (72.5)	Ref
Dries hands after washing them with a towel
Yes	35 (17.5)	165 (82.5)	1.791 (0.820–3.913)	2.183	0.140
No	9 (10.6)	76 (89.4)
Level of knowledge
Low	27 (61.4)	132 (54.8)	1.311 (0.679–2.532)	0.655	0.418
High	17 (38.6)	109 (45.2)	Ref