Abstract
Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are a highly sociable and diversified groups of insects found in tropical regions. They coexist harmoniously with humans and are well-adapted to urban environment. Several studies have found that ants can carry pathogenic microbes in their environments and cause infections / spread pathogens. The present study aimed to identify and characterize bacterial biomes presence on the body surface of the Ponerine ant, Leptogenys chinensis, collected from various wards at the Government Rajajii Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of nine bacterial isolates were isolated from the external body surface of the ants, among which 55.55 % were Gram-positive bacilli (Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium sp., and Paenibacillus spp.), 11.11 % were Gram-positive cocci (Staphylococcus sp.) and 33.33 % were Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacter sp.), reportedly in hospitals around the world. The findings of the present investigation, Ponerine ants could carry Gram-positive bacilli, Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacilli bacteria. This emphasizes the significance of ants as mechanical vectors for the spread of pathogens in the hospital environments.
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