Background: Hospital environment is a potential reservoir of bacterial pathogens since it houses both patients with diverse pathogenic microorganisms and a large number of susceptible individuals. The increased frequency of bacterial pathogens in hospital environment is associated with a background rise in various types of nosocomial infections. The rate of nosocomial infections is markedly higher in developing countries. Of these, surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most frequent types of infections.
Aim: The aim of this study was to isolate and correlate bacterial pathogens from hospital environments to that of patients with postoperative SSIs.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Teaching Hospital from November 2010 to February 2011. In the study, 220 specimens of pus, nasal, hand and surfaces swabs were collected using sterile cotton tipped applicator sticks moistened with normal saline. Colony characteristics and Gram’s technique were used to differentiate the organisms. Biochemical tests were done to confirm the species of the organisms.
Results: A total of 268 bacterial pathogens were recovered from all specimens processed in the study. Most of the isolates, 142 (52.9%) were from the hospital environments such as medical devices, inanimate objects and air. The rest, 77 (28.8%) and 49 (18.3%) were recovered from the health professionals and patients, respectively. Organisms associated with postoperative SSIs were Staphylococcus aureus 11 (22.4%) followed by Klebsiella species 10 (20.4%) and Proteus species 9 (18.4%), Escherichia coli 6 (12.2%), Enterobacter species and coagulase negative staphylococci each 4 (8.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 3 (6.1%) and Citrobacter species 2 (4.1%). The predominant causes of postoperative SSIs were S. aureus, Klebsiella and proteus species.
Conclusion and recommendation: Medical equipment, inanimate objects, air and hands of health professionals were contaminated with various types of bacterial pathogens of nosocomial importance. It is imperative that all professionals should take an active role in infection control within their organization and more resources should be provided to encourage good hygienic practice in the hospital.
Key words: Bacterial pathogen, hospital environments, postoperative surgical site infection
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