Determination of the risks of meat processing workers against parasite infections transmitted with meat

Red meat is essential to the human diet with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients added to the high quantity of proteins it contains. Due to factors such as population growth, industrialization, and migration, the food industry is developing, and the number of facilities is increasing day by day. Alongside the importance of safe food, efforts to maintain the full well-being of employees in these facilities are accelerating. This study aims to investigate the exposures by biological factors of these workers who are working in meat production facilities and preventing these diseases from becoming a public health problem by regulating protection policies at the facilities. In our study, 50 blood samples which are obtained from the employees working in slaughterhouses located in Adana in Mediterranean Region of Turkey, Muğla in Aegean Region and Trabzon in Black Sea Region and 45 meat samples from different animals in these slaughterhouses were tested by using Real-Time PCR and ELISA techniques. In addition, a survey was done during a face-to-face interview to measure the knowledge and perception levels of employees about biological risk factors. Of the 16 employees in Adana, 2 (12.5%) had Echinococcisis, 1 (6.3%) had Toxoplasmosis 1 (9.5%) of the 21 workers in the slaughterhouse in Muğla had Taeniasis, Of the 13 slaughterhouse workers in Trabzon, 1 (7.6%) had Echinococcisis, and 2 (15.4%) had Taeniasis seropositive. Echinococcus spp. was detected in 1 (%6.6) and Toxoplasma spp. was detected in 1 (6.6%) of the fifteen different meat samples taken from the slaughterhouse in Adana; Taenia spp. was detected in 1 (6.6%) of the samples from Muğla while Taenia spp. test was found positive on 1(6.6%) meat samples were taken from Trabzon. In this study, it was observed that the workers in slaughterhouses were exposed to the parasites from biological factors of group 2 and group 3, and the level of knowledge and perception about biological risks was low in the survey made among the employees. This situation should be evaluated not only as an occupational health and safety problem but also as a public health problem.