Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Bath Towels Used by Students of University of Medical Sciences Ondo State

Background/Aims: Bath towels are woven pieces of fabric either cotton or cotton-polyester that are used to absorb moisture on the body after bathing. Towels are a prime location for germs, and they can be picked up by contact with wet skin. The aim of this research work is to isolate, identify, and evaluate the occurrence of bacterial contaminations from individual bath towels of students from the University of Medical Sciences Ondo and their harmful consequence to public health. Microbiological screening of seventy-two (72) bath towels from 5 of the university hostels for bacterial contamination was carried out.

Methods: Bacterial isolation, antimicrobial susceptibility test were carried out using basic microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was also carried out using Mueller Hinton agar to determine the susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated.

Results and conclusion: Biochemical analysis of bacterial isolates revealed a general contamination by mainly nine bacterial species associated with human nose, stomach, intestine and skin flora in decreasing frequency of occurrence: Staphylococcus aureus (38.8%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (18.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.3%), Shigella sp. (8.3%), Bacillus sp. (7.0%), Escherichia coli (4.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (4.2%), Micrococcus sp. (2.8%), Salmonella sp. (1.4%). Antibiotics susceptibility testing was carried out and recorded on each of the bacterial isolates. Most of the bacterial isolates showed resistance and susceptibility to certain antibiotics which helps in the perfect and effective choice of antibiotics if these species cause infections. Therefore, there is a need to adopt adequate measures for the regular cleaning and washing of towels, while also maintaining good personal hygienic practices to prevent the transfer and spread of pathogens from these towels and avoiding sharing of towels.