Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus on the Hands of Health-Care Workers and the Environment of a Nigerian University Health Centre

Akinnola, Olayemi O. and Ogunleye, Bimpe O and Odewunm, Rhoda T. and Ajayi, Ayodeji S. (2020) Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus on the Hands of Health-Care Workers and the Environment of a Nigerian University Health Centre. Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research, 4 (1). pp. 884-886. ISSN 2616-0684 (Print) ISSN 2616-0692 (Electronic)

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Abstract

Hospital-acquired infections continue to be an important public health issue with unacceptable levels of morbidity and mortality. Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of infections in the hospital. This research aimed at giving a better understanding of the prevalence of S. aureus in a hospital setting in order to adequately account for its potential threat. A total of 115 samples comprising 65 environmental samples obtained from trays, bed railings, doorknobs, and other surfaces of patient wards and 50 hand swabs of health-care workers were screened for S. aureus using established microbiological techniques. Twenty-eight isolates each represented positive cultures from environmental and hand samples, respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was determined for the S. aureus isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. The anti-biotic resistance pattern for the hand and environmental isolates respectively gave the following results: Ciprofloxacin (32.14%, 21.43%), Trimethoprim/ Sulphamethoxazole (60.71%, 67.86%), Oxacillin (28.57%, 35.71%), Erythromycin (21.42%, 17.86%), Gentamicin (42.86%, 28.57%), Tetracycline (17.86%, 21.42%), Penicillin (42.86%, 42.85%). Twelve resistant phenotypes were identified, of which Ciprofloxacin-Gentamicin- Trimethoprim/ Sulphamethoxazole (CIP-CN-SXT) was predominant. This study shows that the hands of health-care workers and the hospital environment could serve as potential vehicles of transmission of S. aureus infections, thus high-lighting the need for effective infection control measures.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Staphylococcus aureus, Environmental samples, Hand swabs, Antimicrobial suscep-tibility testing.
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences
Depositing User:	nwokealisi
Date Deposited:	26 Apr 2023 15:44
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2023 15:44
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/16854

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