Awareness about milk borne diseases and public health concerns in Rawalakot Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

• Published in: Pure and applied biology Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 1356 - 1363
• Main Authors: Bashir, Nosheen, Bashir, Zammird, Khan, Nadra, Shamim, Asim, Bashir, Badra, Hayat, Imran, Bashir, Saiqa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Quetta International Society of Pure and Applied Biology 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Bacteria; Dairy products; E coli; Epidemics; Food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Foodborne diseases; Harbor facilities; Health care; Illnesses; Listeria; Microbial contamination; Microorganisms; Milk; Milk products; Milking; Pasteurization; Pathogens; Public health; Questionnaires; Salmonella; Statistical analysis; Tuberculosis; Womens health; Yogurt; Zoonoses; Pakistan
• ISSN: 2304-2478
• DOI: 10.19045/bsoab.2021.100140

Milk is a natural medium for microbial growth due to its specific nature. The milk-borne epidemics were recorded as 2-6% due to bacterial food-borne diseases. The microbial contamination can originate from different sources such as air, milking equipment and feed. Milk that has not undergone pasteurization can harbour bacteria such as Camphylobacterium, Listeria, Brucella, Mycobacterium, and E.coli, can cause severe illness and even death. The current study was designed to evaluate the awareness of using boiled milk among women of Rawalakot, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir. A self-designed questionnaire was used to assess the awareness of women. Most people like milk (86.5%). Almost 100% of women were aware of using boiled milk for drinking, but it was quite surprising that 100% of women were using unboiled milk for making milk products. It was also noticed that about 87.5% of women experienced gastrointestinal problems after consumption of raw milk and it was interesting to find that almost 92.5% were not aware of the reason of illness. About 25% were suffering from lung tuberculosis whereas 12.5% had intestinal tuberculosis. Only 15% of women were aware of the aetiology of T.B and 85% were unaware of the cause of T.B transmission. This difference might be due to cultural practices that were used by people for many years without considering any hazard of using raw milk. They were unaware of milk-borne diseases due to the consumption of raw milk. This study will further help to aware of the people about the use of boiled milk.