Knowledge of aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and the risk of its ingestion among health workers in Ibadan, Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness and knowledge of aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and the risk of its ingestion among health workers in Ibadan. METHODS: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Study instrument was a semi-structured self administered questionnaire. The respondents were health workers from a public health facility. RESULTS: A total of 417 health workers participated out of which males were 60.2%. The mean age of respondents was (28.0±4.9)years old. Doctors made up 83.0% while others were nurses. 95% of the respondents had previous awareness of aflatoxin and class room lectures was the most common source of information (56%). Occupation and religion both showed a significant association with previous awareness of aflatoxin (P<0.05). Knowledge regarding aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and the risk of its ingestion was obtained showing knowledge score range of 0 to 14. In all, 80.6% had good scores of 11 to 14. None of the respondents had ever told their patients about the risk of aflatoxin ingestion. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to explore the possibility of incorporating aflatoxin awareness into routine health talk to increase the level of awareness of patients and their relatives.