Microbiological quality of indoor air in university libraries

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the concentration of bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of Jimma University libraries, so as to estimate the health hazard and to create standards for indoor air quality control.

METHODS

The microbial quality of indoor air of eight libraries of Jimma University was determined. The settle plate method using open Petri-dishes containing different culture media was employed to collect sample twice daily. Isolates were identified according to standard methods.

RESULTS

The concentrations of bacteria and fungi aerosols in the indoor environment of the university libraries ranged between 367-2595 CFU/m(3). According to the sanitary standards classification of European Commission, almost all the libraries indoor air of Jimma University was heavily contaminated with bacteria and fungi. In spite of their major source difference, the average fungi density found in the indoor air of libraries did appear to follow the same trend with bacterial density (P=0.001). The bacteria isolates included Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus sp. and Neisseria sp. while Cladosporium sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. were the most isolated fungi.

CONCLUSIONS

The indoor air of all libraries were in the range above highly contaminated according to European Commission classification and the most isolates are considered as potential candidates involved in the establishment of sick building syndromes and often associated with clinical manifestations like allergy, rhinitis, asthma and conjunctivitis. Thus, attention must be given to control those environmental factors which favor the growth and multiplication of microbes in indoor environment of libraries to safeguard the health of users and workers.

Microbiological Assessment of Indoor Air of Teaching Hospital Wards: A case of Jimma University Specialized Hospital

BACKGROUND

Hospital environment represents a congenial situation where microorganisms and susceptible patients are indoors together. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide fundamental data related to the microbial quality of indoor air of Jimma University Specialized Hospital wards, to estimate the health hazard and to create standards for indoor air quality control.

METHODS

The microbial quality of indoor air of seven wards of Jimma University Specialized Hospital was determined. Passive air sampling technique, using open Petri-dishes containing different culture media, was employed to collect sample twice daily.

RESULTS

The concentrations of bacteria and fungi aerosols in the indoor environment of the wards ranged between 2123 - 9733 CFU/m(3). The statistical analysis showed that the concentrations of bacteria that were measured in all studied wards were significantly different from each other (p-value=0.017), whereas the concentrations of fungi that were measured in all sampled wards were not significantly different from each other (p-value=0.850). Moreover, the concentrations of bacteria that were measured at different sampling time (morning and afternoon) were significantly different (p-value =0.001).

CONCLUSION

All wards that were included in the study were heavily contaminated with bacteria and fungi. Thus, immediate interventions are needed to control those environmental factors which favor the growth and multiplication of microbes, and it is vital to control visitors and students in and out the wards. Moreover, it is advisable that strict measures be put in place to check the increasing microbial load in the hospital environment.

Recent vs Conventional Methods of Caries Removal: A Comparative in vivo Study in Pediatric Patients

Aims: To compare the three different methods of caries removal, conventional method using Airotor and chemomechanical method using Carisolv and Papacarie.

Settings and design: The patients with multiple carious teeth were selected either in the deciduous dentition or mixed dentition. Ninety primary molars were selected from 30 children (10 males and 20 females) between the age group 6 and 9 years.

Materials and methods: After caries excavation, cavities were evaluated for caries removal or clinical efficacy by the tactile and visual criteria, microbiological efficacy, time taken for the procedure. Patient acceptability toward the treatment was also checked with the help of a visual analog scale (VAS). The observations thus obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results: The clinical efficacy of caries removal was highest with Airotor while the microbiological efficacy of caries removal was almost comparable with Airotor, Carisolv and Papacarie caries removal methods. The time taken to remove caries by Airotor method was observed to be least while the patient acceptance was found to be highest with Papacarie method.

How to cite this article: Chowdhry S, Saha S, Samadi F, Jaiswal JN, Garg A, Chowdhry P. Recent vs Conventional Methods of Caries Removal: A Comparative in vivo Study in Pediatric Patients. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(1):6-11.

Microbiological assessment of indoor air of a teaching hospital in Nigeria

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the quality of indoor air of different wards and units of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, to ascertain their contribution to infection rate in the hospital.

METHODS

The microbial quality of indoor air of nine wards/units of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria was conducted. Sedimentation technique using open Petri-dishes containing different culture media was employed and samplings were done twice daily, one in the morning shortly after cleaning and before influx of people/patients into the wards/units and the other in the evening when a lot of activities would have taken place in these wards. Isolates were identified according to standard methods.

RESULTS

Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference (χ(2) = 6.016 7) in the bacteria population of the different sampling time whereas it was not so for fungi population (χ(2) = 0.285 7). Male medical ward (MMW) and male surgical general (MSG) recorded the highest bacterial and fungal growth while the operating theatre (OT) was almost free of microbial burden. The bacteria isolates were Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella sp., Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Serratia marscences while the fungi isolates included Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., Candida albicans and Alternaria sp. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominantly isolated bacterium while Penicillium sp. was the most isolated fungus.

CONCLUSIONS

Though most of the microbial isolates were potential and or opportunistic pathogens, there was no correlation between the isolates in this study and the surveillance report of nosocomial infection during the period of study, hence the contribution of the indoor air cannot be established. From the reduction noticed in the morning samples, stringent measures such as proper disinfection and regular cleaning, restriction of patient relatives' movement in and out of the wards/units need to be enforced so as to improve the quality of indoor air of our hospital wards/units.

Validity and reliability of semi-quantitative wound swabs

Wound infection is a common factor that delays wound healing. The diagnosis of wound infection should be based on clinical observations of the presence of classic signs of infection. There is also a role for microbiological investigation, for example, using semi-quantitative wound swabs, to help guide systemic treatment. However, there is still a debate about the most accurate method for taking a wound swab. This review explores the research evidence underpinning the use of semi-quantitative wound swabs, focusing on the validity and reliability of this method of assessment.

Microbiological status of drinking water sources and its relationship with human health in Solan, India

In Solan district, the developmental activities associated with chemical based farming, rapid urbanization, and rampant industrialization have led to many diarrhoeal, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis disease outbreaks. This has necessitated for microbiological assessment of indicator organisms, the thermotolerant coliforms, in drinking water sources, and their relationship with diarrhoeal disease. All the 49 Public Health Institutes (PHIs) of the district were categorized into very low, low, moderate, and high disease burden regions by stratification method. For drinking water, 55.5, 16.5, and 17% people preferred springs, borewells, and hand-pump respectively. These sources inventoried by Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice survey in one of very low and seven of high disease burden regions, and were analyzed by multiple tube fermentation technique. A cross-sectional survey of 200 children was undertaken for diarrhoeal disease estimation. Parwanoo, an industrial and Kurgal, a non industrial region witnessed highest (30.20) and lowest (4.40) Most Probable Number (MPN) per 100 ml water of thermotolerant coliforms, respectively. Thermotolerant coliforms were also observed significantly more (16.77 MPN/100 ml water) in monsoon than in post monsoon season (9.04 MPN per 100 ml water). The thermotolerant coliform Escherichia coli was recovered from six and three water sources respectively during monsoon and post monsoon. A strong correlation (r = 0.78) existed between the diarrhoeal disease occurrence and the concentration of thermotolerant coliforms in monsoon whereas it was moderate (r = 0.61) in post monsoon. The study indicated more contamination of water sources due to industrial activities which further got aggravated during the rainy season of the region.

Microbiological assessment of arterial allografts processed in a tissue bank

The transmission of microbial infection through tissue allografts is one of the main risks that must be controlled in tissue banks. Therefore, microbiological monitoring controls and validated protocols for the decontamination of tissues during processing have been implemented. This study is based on the evaluation of data from microbiological cultures of arteries (mainly long peripheral arteries) processed in the tissue bank of Valencia (Spain). Donors' profile, pre- and post-disinfection tissue samples were assessed. The presence of residual antibiotics in disinfected tissues was determined and the antimicrobial potential of these tissues was tested. Our overall contamination rate was 23.69%, with a disinfection rate (after antibiotic incubation) of 87.5%. Most (76.09%) of the microbial contaminants were identified as Gram positive. Arterial allografts collected from body sites affected by prior organ removal showed higher risk of contamination. Only vancomycin was detected as tissue release. The antimicrobial effect on Candida albicans was lower than that for bacterial species. Risk assessment for microbial contamination suggested the donor's skin and the environment during tissue collection as the main sources for allograft contamination. Antibiotic-disinfected arterial allografts showed antimicrobial potential.

The antimicrobial resistance landscape of slaughterhouses in western Kenya: A microbiological case study

Slaughterhouses may be hotspots for the transmission of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens. To obtain information on the AMR landscape in Kenyan slaughterhouses, we collected swabs of the environment, animal carcasses, and workers. Bacterial isolates were identified in 101/193 (52.3 %) samples, and most showed resistance to streptomycin (68.7 %), ampicillin (48.7 %), and tetracycline (42.5 %). Multi drug resistance was exhibited by 35/80 isolates (43.8 %; 95 % CI: 33.2-54.9 %), while Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase was expressed in 5/80 isolates (6.3 %; 95 % CI: 2.6-14.3 %). These findings illustrate the presence of resistant bacteria throughout the slaughterhouse environment, posing a risk to workers and meat consumers and highlighting the need for an integrated surveillance system along the food chain.

Multivariate statistical analysis of surface water quality in the capibaribe river (Pernambuco state, Northeast Brazil): Contributions to water management

Assessing the quality of surface waters is essential for identifying changes in freshwater ecosystems and supporting the planning/proposing of measures to mitigate polluting sources. However, many studies involving the identification of pathogenic bacteria and/or their resistance profile to antimicrobial agents need a more holistic approach to conditioning or modulating factors. Thus, we apply different multivariate statistical techniques to the data set from the Capibaribe River's surface water, one of the most important in the Northeast of Brazil. Our data, taken together, suggest that the waters of the Capibaribe River have been suffering impacts associated with different human activities. Due to its flow crossing a large urban area, different sources are contributing to the contamination/pollution of its aquatic ecosystem, whose multivariate analysis allowed us to identify site-dependent characteristics that reflect the degree and type of human influence. The study of physical-chemical and chemical parameters reveals the influence of the high load of effluents (industrial and domestic) on the chemical and microbiological quality of the waters sampled at the SS4 site. On the other hand, the antimicrobial resistance profile of the isolates evaluated, especially at SS1, SS2, and SS3 sites, provides a comprehensive sample of the "resistome" present in the fecal content of thousands of people living in the region surrounding the Capibaribe River. The presence of enterobacteria in water indicates contamination of fecal origin. It represents a public health problem since the waters of the Capibaribe River can be a source of dissemination and persistence of bacteria resistant to humans and the environment. In conclusion, our study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between surface water, basic sanitation, antibiotic exposure, bacterial gene transfer, and human colonization, whether in the context of the region studied or other locations.