Abstract
Hospital-acquired infections represent a serious public health problem in all countries. It is clear that monitoring of the hospital environment is an essential element in the control and a part of the policy for preventing nosocomial infections. It allows a better understanding of the microbial ecology for the purpose of conducting preventive and corrective actions. The aims of this work were to determine the percentage of bacterial contamination of environmental samples and to identify potential nosocomial pathogens isolated from environments of seven referral hospitals from 2009 to 2015. By using the swab technique, 12863 samples were collected. Qualitative and quantitative cultures were performed. The organisms were primarily identified by colony morphology, microscopy of Gram stain, and standard biochemical tests. 25.6% of total samples showed contamination (93% was monomicrobial and 7.0% was polymicrobial). The predominant species was coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) (32%), followed by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (26%) and then K. pneumonia (10.6%). The percentage of contamination varied among the covered hospitals and according to the year of monitoring with highly statistically significant difference (p value < 0.001). Direct contact with environmental surfaces or equipment transmits the majority of nosocomial infection. Major nosocomial pathogens have been identified. Hospital managers and healthcare bodies must be aware of the reality of the concept of environmental bacterial tanks and the need for respect of biocleaning procedures and choice of biocleaning tools.
Highlights
Hospital or hospital-acquired infections represent a serious public health problem in all countries [1]. e burden of HAI is already substantial in developed countries, where it affects from 5% to 15% of hospitalized patients in regular wards and as many as 50% or more of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) [2, 3]
Monitoring of the hospital environment is lacking in hospitals in Assiut city, so the main objectives of this study were to determine the percentage of bacterial contamination of environmental samples and to identify potential nosocomial pathogens isolated from environments of seven referral hospitals in Assiut city as identification of bacterial contamination of environmental samples is a guide for appropriate preventive measures of infection
We investigated a total of 12863 samples with 25.6% positivity of bacterial contamination. is was more or less similar to a study by Rozonska et al, as overall, 69.6% of samples exhibited growth of 19 bacterial species
Summary
Hospital or hospital-acquired infections represent a serious public health problem in all countries [1]. e burden of HAI is already substantial in developed countries, where it affects from 5% to 15% of hospitalized patients in regular wards and as many as 50% or more of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) [2, 3].It is clear that monitoring of the hospital environment is an essential element in the control of nosocomial infections. Hospital or hospital-acquired infections represent a serious public health problem in all countries [1]. E burden of HAI is already substantial in developed countries, where it affects from 5% to 15% of hospitalized patients in regular wards and as many as 50% or more of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) [2, 3]. It is clear that monitoring of the hospital environment is an essential element in the control of nosocomial infections. Hospital surfaces colonized by different types of microorganisms constitute special ecological niches that require cumbersome, complex, and costly procedures that are necessary for better safety of the patient [4]. Direct contact primarily with environmental surfaces or equipment transmits the majority of nosocomial infection [7]. Major nosocomial pathogens have been identified. ey can circulate between the patients and might persist in the environment for a long time [8]
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