Bacteriological Evaluation of Kwale General Hospital Environment

Abstract

Bacteriological investigations were carried out on staff hands, used beddings, floors, wash basins and air in the wards of Kwale General Hospital environment, in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State. Surface swabbing and settle plate methods were employed for sampling surfaces and air respectively. Of the isolates obtained from sample sources in the hospital, beddings of patients yielded the highest proportion of bacterial load (79.2%) followed by dry floors (75.0%), air (65.9%), sinks (47.2%), staff hands (46.5%) and basins (45.2%). Female ward yielded the highest proportion of bacterial isolates of 89.3%, followed by Maternity (82.1%), male (71.4%) and children (70.4%). The least proportion of bacterial contamination occurred in Pharmacy (40.7%) and Theatre (18.5%). This study showed that Kwale General Hospital environment is heavily contaminated and therefore underlies the necessity for regular evaluation of the hospital environment.


Keywords: Bacteriological evaluation, hospital, environment.

Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol. 14 (2) 2005: pp. 73-78