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Table 4 Farmers’ annual contact time to irrigation water and farm soil per contact type and farm activity

From: A faecal exposure assessment of farm workers in Accra, Ghana: a cross sectional study

Variable

% of farmers involved in activity at peak period % (N = 80)

Percentage of farmers with contact to faecal contamination, % (n)

Median (IQR) contact time, h/y

Bed Preparation (n = 19)

30 (24)

 

25 (16, 39)

 Hand-to-soil

 

100 (19)

24 (14, 39)

 Feet-to-soil

 

90 (17)

24 (16, 33)

 Hand-to-mouth/face, nr/y*

 

58 (11)

85 (45, 227)

Transplanting (n = 11)

18 (14)

 

18 (13, 45)

 Hand-to-soil

 

100 (11)

18 (13, 45)

 Feet-to-soil

 

100.(11)

18 (13, 45)

 Hand-to-mouth/face, nr/y

 

36 (4)

85 (57, 270)

Soil tilling (Forking, n = 36)

56 (45)

 

150 (83, 290)

 Hand-to-soil

 

97 (35)

152 (84, 308)

 Feet-to-soil

 

92 (33)

144 (81, 273)

 Hand-to-mouth/face, nr/y

 

61 (22)

454 (227, 852)

Weed Removal (n = 42)

66 (53)

 

99 (47, 189)

 Hand-to-soil

 

100 (42)

99 (47, 189)

 Feet-to-soil

 

98 (41)

95 (47, 189)

 Hand-to-mouth/face, nr/y

 

48 (20)

256 (128, 852)

Irrigation (n = 55)

86 (69)

 

1113 (426, 1617)

 Hand-to-irrigation water

 

93 (51)

1278 (451, 1633)

 Feet-to-soil

 

89 (49)

1278 (450, 1633)

 Feet-to-irrigation water

 

91 (50)

1295 (451, 1633)

Total hand-to-soil contact**

100 (80)

86 (69)

1339 (909, 1732)

Total feet-to-soil contact

100 (80)

93 (74)

2002 (1625, 2300)

Total hand-to-mouth contact events

100 (80)

53 (42)

3181 (1704, 5964)

  1. nr/y* = number of events per year
  2. ** Total hand-to-soil contact for 5 farm activities – bed preparation, transplanting, soil tilling, weed removal and harvesting
  3. Total feet-to-soil contact for 8 farm activities - bed preparation, transplanting, soil tilling, weed removal, irrigation, spraying, harvesting and transport of produce to roadside