Survey of food safety awareness among HIV-positive individuals

A survey was carried out by personal interview to assess the awareness of basic food hygiene and food safety amongst 77 HIV-positive individuals attending a single hospital. There was some confusion and lack of knowledge about aspects of food storage and despite the fact that 74% of subjects had mod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS care 1998-04, Vol.10 (2), p.237-241
Main Authors: HEATHCOCK, R., MCLAUCHLIN, J., NEWTON, L. H., SOLTANPOOR, N., COKER, R., BIGNARDI, G., MCEVOY, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air. Soil. Water. Waste. Feeding
Awareness
Biological and medical sciences
Diet
Environment. Living conditions
Female
Food contamination & poisoning
Food Handling
Food Preservation
Food safety
Foodborne Diseases - prevention & control
Health Education
HIV
HIV Seropositivity
Hospitals
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Hygiene
Male
Medical sciences
Patient Education as Topic
Patients
Polls & surveys
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Safety
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Summary:A survey was carried out by personal interview to assess the awareness of basic food hygiene and food safety amongst 77 HIV-positive individuals attending a single hospital. There was some confusion and lack of knowledge about aspects of food storage and despite the fact that 74% of subjects had modified their diet since learning their HIV status (mainly for nutritional reasons) only 25% reported receiving information on food safety. Of the subjects interviewed, 96%, 66% and 23% were aware of the risks of infection from Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Cryptosporidium, respectively; although most were not aware of the UK Government's advice on the consumption of eggs, soft cheese, pate and cook-chill foods. Over 40% of those interviewed reported that they did not drink tap water (most drank bottled water instead), but few were aware of infections potentially transmitted through water. Although pets represent a potential source of a wide variety of infectious agents, there was a high level of awareness of this problem. This study highlights the need for improving the availability of information on food hygiene and infections acquired through food and water to HIV-positive individuals.
ISSN:0954-0121
1360-0451
DOI:10.1080/09540129850124497