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VOL. 3, ISSUE 4 (2021)
Elevators and staircase handrails as potential sources of nosocomial pathogens at Ndola teaching hospital, Zambia
Authors
Tony Mulongo, Kingsley Kamvuma, Christopher N Phiri, John A Mulemena, Warren Chanda
Abstract
This study aimed to assess microbial colonization of elevators and the staircase handrail at Ndola Teaching Hospital. Swabs from elevators and staircase handrail were cultured on Blood, MacConkey and Mannitol Salt agar for 24-48h at 35-37oC. All observed bacterial colonies where sub-cultured for identification. Data analysis was conducted with Microsoft excel 2010 and SPSS version 20 statistical software. A 2-tailed Pearson Correlation test was used to assess for significant differences in colonization prevalence between the two elevators and handrail. A total of 94 bacteria species were isolated, among which 75 (78.8%) were isolated from elevators while 19 (20.2%) were isolated from the staircase handrail. Most bacteria were isolated from exterior buttons followed by doors and interior of elevators whereas the basement, ground and sixth floor sections of the staircase handrail were largely contaminated with S. aureus, non-spore forming Gram positive bacilli, Klebsiella spp, coagulase negative Staphylococci and Enterobacter spp. Overall, the commonest isolated bacteria were S. aureus (33%) followed by non-spore forming Gram positive bacilli (16%), coagulase negative Staphylococci and endospore forming Gram positive bacilli (13.8% apiece), Streptococci (7.4%) and Klebsiella species (6.4%). Strong relationship existed on the prevalence of bacteria colonizers of elevators and staircase handrail (p<0.01). Therefore, the study showed that elevators and staircase handrail possess viable microorganisms and may act as potential sources of nosocomial infections especially to immune com promised patients in hospitals, and this calls for proper and effective infection control and prevention strategies to lessen microbial population from dry surfaces.
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Pages:33-38
How to cite this article:
Tony Mulongo, Kingsley Kamvuma, Christopher N Phiri, John A Mulemena, Warren Chanda "Elevators and staircase handrails as potential sources of nosocomial pathogens at Ndola teaching hospital, Zambia ". International Journal of Educational Research and Development, Vol 3, Issue 4, 2021, Pages 33-38
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