Bacterial Contamination of Children’s Toys in Rural Day Care Centres and Households in South Africa

Solanka Ellen Ledwaba, Piet Becker, Afsatou Traore-Hoffman and Natasha Potgieter
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Solanka Ellen Ledwaba: Department of Microbiology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
Piet Becker: Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Afsatou Traore-Hoffman: Department of Microbiology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
Natasha Potgieter: Department of Microbiology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Young children exhibit a high susceptibility to several diarrhoea-causing bacterial microorganisms. In this study, the prevalence of fecal contamination on children’s toys was determined using total coliform and E. coli as bacterial fecal indicators. The prevalence of diarrhoeagenic E. coli strains were used as an indication of the potential health risks. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out for 3 months in rural communities in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province of South Africa. Nonporous plastic toys (n = 137) used by children under 5 years of age in households and day care centres (DCCs) from rural villages were collected for assessment. New toys (n = 109) were provided to the households and DCCs and collected again after 4 weeks. Microbiological assessment was carried out using the Colilert ® Quanti-Tray/2000 system. Diarrhoeagenic E. coli strains were identified using a published multiplex PCR protocol. Results: Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions of the children in the households and DCCs were assessed. Statistical analysis was used to identify the relationship between fecal contamination of the existing and introduced toys. All the existing and introduced toy samples, both from DCCs and households, tested positive for total coliform counts and 61 existing and introduced toy samples tested positive for E. coli counts. Diarrhoeagenic E. coli strains identified included EHEC, ETEC, EPEC, EIEC and EAEC. Conclusions: The results indicated that water, sanitation and hygiene conditions could be responsible in the contamination of children’s toys and the transmission of diarrhoea to young children.

Keywords: diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli; rural; toys; WASH conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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