BACTERIA BURDEN OF AIR AND SURFACES

ABSTRACT

Hospital acquired infections are no longer restricted to the environs of the hospital alone. Of recent, myriads of reported outbreaks have been connected to the outpatient settings and credited to noncompliance of recommended infection-prevention protocols. Outpatient care is provided by hospitals when patients do not need to stay overnight and such visits have been noted to be on the increase. Therefore, as more care is provided in outpatient facilities, it is increasingly important to understand the potential for disease transmission, this is particularly so for nosocomial infections, also called hospital acquired infections which are defined as infections originating in hospitals. Such an infection can be acquired by susceptible patients more commonly in hospitals and outpatient departments but also in nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities or other clinical settings by various means. Healthcare staff can spread infections in addition to contaminated equipment, surfaces or air droplets. Contaminated environmental surfaces are an important potential reservoir for the transmission of many healthcare-associated pathogens. The quality of air inhaled by an individual within his environment determines to a greater degree the well-being of that individual. Some infectious agents are suspended in the air and surfaces. The pathogens for these nosocomial infections are often present on hospital surfaces and equipment. It is important to identify these bacterial species in order to effectively prevent Health-care associated infections. Some pathogens identified evoke infectious risk and highlight the insufficiency of cleaning and disinfection. Consequently, a general improvement in hospital hygiene and increased environmental disinfection is necessary. This study was divided into three parts: The first is a descriptive cross-sectional part, to assess the safety of the air in the outpatient department of the medical center. The second is an intervention part to assess the hygiene conditions of the surfaces within the department thereby reducing the level of environmental and medical equipment bacterial contamination. The third is to analyze the resistance or susceptibility of certain antibiotics to various isolates which were discovered upon study.