Abstract
Microbial contamination of fomites such as currency notes is of public health concern as contaminated materials might act as vehicle for the transmission of pathogenic and drug resistant organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacteria isolated from Nigerian currencies circulating in some hospitals of Kano metropolis. Four hundred paper currency notes of all denominations obtained from three hospitals (Hasiya Bayero pediatrics hospital, Murtala Mohammad specialist hospital and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital) and school environment (Bayero university Kano) were investigated. The samples were all screened for bacterial pathogens and some common nosocomial pathogens using standard microbiological procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using disc diffusion method to detect the presence of resistant isolates including multidrug resistant organisms (MDR) and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The results of the study revealed that 84.7% of currencies were contaminated with pathogenic organisms. Bacteria isolated from currencies circulating in hospital were more resistant to antibiotics than non hospital source isolates (p< 0.05). The prevalence of MDR was found to be (16% and 6% p< 0.005) and (6.8% and 5.9% p>0.05) for MRSA from hospital and non hospital currencies respectively. Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Bacillus species, Streptococcus species, Proteus species, Klebsiella spp, Salmonella spp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most frequent isolated bacteria. Ampicillin, cotrimoxaxole, and amoxicillin/clavulanate showed high levels of inactivity. Ciprofloxacin had the greatest activity (40% to 100%) against the isolates. The study revealed that Currency notes circulating in hospital are highly contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria including drug resistant nosocomial pathogens, MRSA and MDR organisms. Measures should therefore be employed to ensure the safety of currency handlers in the hospital.Key words: Antibiotic, Sensitivity pattern, Bacteria, Nigerian Currencies, Hospitals
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