ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
C. Shubhada1 , Shreesha Marla2 and Reshma Bachagoudar3
1Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
2Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, K.M.C. Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
3Department of Community Medicine, SDM College of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
Article Number: 8753 | © The Author(s). 2024
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2024;18(3):2121-2129. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.18.3.62
Received: 06 June 2023 | Accepted: 12 August 2024 | Published online: 31 August 2024
Issue online: September 2024
Abstract

This study was taken up to determine the prevalence of potential pathogens in most touched fomites in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and to determine their antibiogram. Fifty swabs each were collected from fomites from In-born (for babies born in our center) and out-born (for babies born elsewhere, brought to our center) NICUs, before and after cleaning. Samples were processed using standard Microbiological techniques. Antibiogram was determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. From In-born NICU, before cleaning, 42 (84%) samples yielded growth with 48 bacterial isolates of which 31 (64.6%) were pathogens and after cleaning, 40 (80%) samples yielded growth with 41 bacterial isolates, of which 30 (73.1%) were pathogens. Most frequent isolates were non-fermenting gram-negative bacilli (NFGNB) and Klebsiella pneumoniae before and after cleaning, respectively. Prevalence of bacteria from In-born NICU before and after the cleaning was statistically significant (p = 0.025). From Out-born NICU, before cleaning, 42 (84%) samples yielded growth with 45 bacterial isolates, of which 25 (55.55%) were pathogens. Samples collected after cleaning; 42 (84%) samples yielded growth with 43 bacterial isolates of which 19 (44.18%) were pathogens. Most frequent isolates were NFGNB and Klebsiella pneumoniae from In-born NICU and K. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli from Out-born NICU before and after cleaning, respectively. Overall prevalence of pathogens was significant (p = 0.007). Staphylococcal isolates were resistant to Methicillin. NFGNB exhibited highest resistance (55.9%) towards Gentamicin. Significant decrease in the frequency of pathogens after cleaning indicates stringent practice of sterilization protocol would be essential in hospital environment.

Keywords

NICU, Fomites, Prevalence, Nosocomial Pathogens, Gram-negative Bacteria, Sterilization

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© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.