The health risk of exposure to the Akaki River water remains an underrecognized issue among irrigation farmworkers at Gelan Farm Sites. To show the risk, this study assessed the prevalence and determinants of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) among these workers. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted between December 13, 2023, and January 8, 2024, within 296 randomly selected farmworkers aged 18 years and above who had been actively engaged in irrigation farming for at least a month. Totally, the prevalence of AGI was about 23% (95% CI: 18.2%-27.8%). In this study, factors such as being married, older age, higher education level, farming experience, and handwashing awareness were protective. The interaction between farming experience and safe water sources, were also protective. On the other hand, residing on the farmland, using untreated river water for cooking, unintentional ingestion of irrigation water, and interaction of river water use with limited access to clean water were AGI-exacerbating factors. For intervention, access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and health education are needed to protect the health and productivity of the workers.
Gudisa et al. (Sun,) studied this question.