Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Ethical Consideration
2.2. Study Site
2.3. Collection of Toys
2.4. Microbiological Assessment of Toy Samples
2.5. Molecular Characterisation of Diarrhoeagenic E. coli Strains
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Analysis of Questionnaires from Households and Day Care Centres
3.2. Frequencies of Total Coliforms and E. coli on Toys
3.3. Prevalence of Diarrhoeagenic E. coli Strains on Toys
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Pathogen | Primer | Sequence | Size (bp) | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commensal E. coli | Mdh(F) Mdh (R) | GGT ATG GAT CGT TCC GAC CT GGCAGA ATG GTA ACA CCA GAG T | 304 | [28] |
EIEC | ial (F) ial (R) | GGT ATG ATG ATG AGT AGT CCA GGA GGC CAA CAA TTA TTT CC | 650 | [29] |
EHEC/Atypical EPEC | eaeA (F) eaeA (R) | CTG AAC GGC GAT TACGCG AA CCA GAC GAT ACG ATC CAG | 917 | [30] |
Typical EPEC | bfpA (F) bfpA (R) | AAT GGT GCT TGC GCT TGC TGC TAT TAA CAC CGT AGC CTT TCG CTG AAG TAC CT | 410 | [30] |
EAEC | stxl (F) stxl (R) stx2 (F) stx2 (R) | ACA CTG GAT GAT CTC AGT GG CTG AAT CCC CCT CCA TTA TG CCA TGA CAA CGG ACA GCA GTT CCTGTC AAC TGA GCA CTT TG | 614 | [31] |
ETEC | lt (F) lt (R) | GGC GAC AGA TTA TAC CGT GC CGG TCT CTA TAT TCC CTG TT | 360 | [32] |
External control | gapdh (F) gapdh (R) | GAG TCA ACG GAT TTG GTC GT TTG ATT TTG GAG GGA TCT CG | 238 | [33] |
Variable | HH (n = 54) | DCC (n = 6) |
---|---|---|
A toilet facility was present at HH/DCC | 44 (81%) | 6 (100%) |
Type of toilets present * | ||
Flush toilet | 4 (7%) | 2 (33%) |
Pit latrine | 45 (83%) | 4 (67%) |
Bucket system | 5 (9%) | - |
Alternate toilet for children | ||
Open space in the yard | 16 (30%) | 3 (50%) |
Open space in the bush | 5 (9%) | - |
Children’s toilet | 19 (35%) | 3 (50%) |
No data | 14 (26%) | - |
Variable | HH (n = 54) | DCC (n = 6) |
---|---|---|
Water source | ||
Communal tap | 22 (41%) | 2 (33%) |
Tank | 8 (15%) | - |
Borehole | 3 (6%) | 1 (17%) |
River water | 10 (19%) | - |
Communal tap and borehole | 4 (7%) | 1 (17%) |
Tank and river water | 7 (13%) | 2 (33%) |
Is water sometimes not available * | 54 (100%) | 4 (67%) |
How often is water not available at the source? ** | ||
Weekly | 10 (19%) | 3 (50%) |
Monthly | 32 (59%) | 1 (17%) |
Annually | 12 (22%) | - |
Use alternative source for how long ** | ||
Days | 7 (13%) | - |
Week | 23 (43%) | 2 (33%) |
Month | 11 (20%) | 2 (67%) |
No data | 13 (24%) | - |
Estimated distance to collect water ** | ||
0–10 m | 5 (9%) | - |
10–50 m | 9 (17%) | - |
50–100 m | 10 (19%) | 3 (50%) |
100–200 m | 12 (22%) | 1 (17%) |
>200 m | 18 (33%) | - |
Transport of water to household/DCC ** | ||
Carry on head | 20 (37%) | 1 (17%) |
Wheelbarrow | 31 (57%) | 3 (50%) |
No data | 3 (6%) | - |
Variable | HH (n = 54) | DCC (n = 6) |
---|---|---|
Hand washing site | ||
Washing facility close to toilet | 12 (22%) | - |
Dish washing container | 15 (28%) | 4 (67%) |
Use drinking beaker to pour water to wash hands | 19 (35%) | 2 (33%) |
At source such as river/tap | 2 (4%) | - |
At water storage containers | 1 (2%) | - |
No data | 5 (9%) | - |
When do caretakers of the child wash their hands? | ||
Visibly soiled | 7 (13%) | 3 (50%) |
After touching something contaminated | 30 (56%) | 4 (67%) |
After using the toilet | 44 (81%) | 5 (83%) |
After changing nappies | 37 (69%) | 6 (100%) |
Before preparing food | 43 (80%) | 6 (100%) |
Before meals | 43 (80%) | 6 (100%) |
Food hygiene | ||
Wash dishes with soap and warm water | 54 (100%) | 6 (100%) |
Cover food with cloth/lid | 45 (83%) | 6 (100%) |
No method | 9 (17%) | - |
Rinse food | 54 (100%) | 6 (100%) |
WHO Criteria (WHO, 2001) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 cfu/100 mL | 1–10 cfu/100 mL | 10–100 cfu/100 mL | >100 cfu/100 mL | ||
Households | Total coliform Existing toys | 6% (3/54) | 13% (7/54) | 19% (10/54) | 63% (34/54) |
Total coliform Introduced toys | 4% (2/54) | 9% (5/54) | 19% (10/54) | 69% (37/54) | |
E. coliExisting toys | 63% (34/54) | 13% (7/54) | 20% (11/54) | 4% (2/54) | |
E. coliIntroduced toys | 67% (36/54) | 11% (6/54) | 6% (3/54) | 17% (9/54) | |
DCCs | Total coliform Existing toys | 7% (4/55) | 31% (17/55) | 33% (18/55) | 29% (16/55) |
Total coliform Introduced toys | 4% (2/55) | 24% (13/55) | 36% (20/55) | 36% (20/55) | |
E. coliExisting toys | 78% (43/55) | 20% (11/55) | 2% (1/55) | 0% (0/55) | |
E. coliIntroduced toys | 86% (47/55) | 9% (5/55) | 4% (2/55) | 2% (1/55) |
Household toys | DCC toys | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Coliform | E. coli | Total Coliform | E. coli | ||||
Existing [95% CI] | Introduced [95% CI] | Existing [95% CI] | Introduced [95% CI] | Existing [95% CI] | Introduced [95% CI] | Existing [95% CI] | Introduced [95% CI] |
278 [135; 572] | 344 [185; 639] | 14 [5; 35] | 100 [21; 467] | 27 [16; 50] | 55 [30; 103] | 24 [14; 41] | 52 [29; 95] |
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Ledwaba, S.E.; Becker, P.; Traore-Hoffman, A.; Potgieter, N. Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2900. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162900
Ledwaba SE, Becker P, Traore-Hoffman A, Potgieter N. Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(16):2900. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162900
Chicago/Turabian StyleLedwaba, Solanka Ellen, Piet Becker, Afsatou Traore-Hoffman, and Natasha Potgieter. 2019. "Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 16: 2900. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162900