ASSESSMENT OF AIRBORNE BACTERIAL ISOLATES IN MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORY AND DEPARTMENTAL OFFICEOF MICROBIOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN (UGBOWO CAMPUS)

Abstract

Indoor environment is one of the main factor affecting health, well-being and productivity of people. Indoor air quality has been the object of several studies due to an increasing concern with the scientific community on the effects of indoor air upon health, especially as people spend more time indoor than outdoor. Indoor air pollution is a major problem in people daily lives and efficient corrective methods are needed to combat the problem of indoor air quality: bacteria, pollen grains, smoke, humidity, chemical substances and gases released by anthropogenic activity has adverse health effects on humans such as asthma, conjunctivitis and allergic rhinitis. A bioaerosol is a colloidal suspension formed by liquid droplets and particles of solid matter in the air. These particles suspended in the air may consist of bacteria, fungi, viruses.Exposure to bioaerosols can cause adverse effect on people and for this reason it is important to check the sanitary conditions of air in the place they live. The samples were obtained in triplicate where the plates were exposed for about 15 minutes at a height of 1meter above ground level and thereafter taken to the laboratory for incubation at 37⁰C for 24hrs.Triplicate samples were collected per sample location for three weeks. Airborne bacteria isolated from location one ranged from 5.93 ± 1.4529 to 10.30 ± 1.8649 and that of location two ranged from 4.01 ±4.7258 to 19.03 ± 3.1798. Bacteria isolated included Bacillus Spp, Acinetobacter Spp, and Proteus Spp in indoor air sample of the Department of Microbiology laboratory and Departmental office of Mircobiology. Bacillus and Acinetobacter were the most occurring isolates with a percentage of 50.01% each while Proteus Spp were the least occurring isolate with 16.67%.In this study, the massive resistance of the isolates to the antibiotics tested with multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranging from 0.33 to 0.75 which is above the acceptable limit of 0.2 is very alarming considering the facts of antimicrobial resistance as a global evolution.. A need for proper awareness, surveillance of indoor environment and buildings, formulation of antibiotic policies, reduction of air pollution, practice of good hygiene habits will go a long way in curbing their adverse effects.