Percepção dos feirantes e consumidores de pescado da cidade de São Luís do Maranhão sobre a doença de Haff

Abstract

Food provides essential nutrients for a healthy diet. Within this context, fish is shown to be a food with high nutritional value. However, despite such benefits, there are some Diseases Transmitted by Food (DTF’s) that can be transmitted through fish. Haff's disease is an example of this, and can affect humans causing rhabdomyolysis with destruction of muscle fibers. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the perception of fish marketers and consumers in the city of São Luís - MA about Haff's disease. The methodological procedure consisted in the elaboration and application of questionnaires, where it was possible to obtain information about the socioeconomic profile of the fairs and consumers, the perception they had about Haff's disease, how the fish was stored and handled in fairs and markets, the change in fish consumption after the media coverage of the outbreak and the drop in sales. The main results obtained revealed that Haff's disease is mistakenly known by most of the fairgrounds and consumers. There was also a lack of knowledge about the origin of the fish sold at fairs and markets and this resulted in a drop in sales. Finally, it was concluded that fairs and markets in the city of São Luís - MA, need public policies and health education with clear information on transmission of Haff disease and others DTF’s throughout the fish production chain.