Microbiological assessment of environmental surfaces in a healthcare facility

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections occurring within 48 hours of hospital admission, 3 days of hospital discharge or 30 days after a surgical procedure. HAIs are a major cause of death and disability within the hospital. Inanimate surfaces can serve as sources of HAIs and can significantly contribute to the spread of pathogens within hospitals. Swab samples were obtained from 53 inanimate surfaces such as air, bed pan, ward doorknob, nurses’ glove, sink, sink tap, cistern lever, toilet seat and wheel chairs located in the various wards of the Accident and Emergency Unit as well as Plastic and Burn unit of, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). The samples obtained were screened for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms and their susceptibility to frequently prescribed antibiotics using disc diffusion method. Our findings showed highest level of contamination was the cistern lever (15 %), and the least was from nurses’ gloves (6 %). Microbial identification revealed the presence of 161 microorganisms comprising Pseudomonas aeruginosa (27 %), Staphylococcus spp. (22 %), Salmonella spp. (16 %), Klebsiella spp. (13 %), and Candida spp. (21 %). Interestingly, 83 % of isolated staphylococci were resistant to cefoxitin, 57 % of Pseudomonas spp. was resistant to levofloxacin, and both Klebsiella spp. and Salmonella spp. were most resistant to ceftriaxone (81 % and 77 % respectively). The observed high prevalence of pathogenic and antibiotic resistant microorganisms calls for implementation of regular surveillance and effective infection control measures within the hospital.