Prevalence of Enterobacteria Species in Different Hospital Wards of a Tertiary Health Facility in Imo State, Nigeria

Aim: to assess the prevalence of Enterobacteria species in different hospital wards in a healthcare outfit in Imo State, Nigeria.

Study Design: The randomized complete block sampling design was adopted for the study.

Place and Duration of the Study: Sample: Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Aboh-Mbaise General Hospital, and Imo State Specialist Hospital. Between May to October, 2021.

Methodology: Using Cochran formula, a total of 360 samples were collected for the study from bedpan, ward floor, bed cover, and staff gloves, at maternity, ICU, and surgical theatre wards. Sample were collected by swabbing the surfaces using sterile swab sticks soaked in saline water. Following standard microbiological procedures, which include bacteria culturing in MacConkey agar to select for Enterobacteria, subculturing on salmonella-shigella agar and cetrimide agar to obtain pure cultures of specific bacteria species; the samples were subjected to morphological, and biochemical characterization. The prevalence was determined and compared for significance (P = .05).

Results: The investigation showed the presence of Escherichia coli (29%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26.84%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.11%), and Shigella species (19.05%), in all the outfits investigated, with their percentage occurrences. The wards floor showed the highest number of Enterobacteria species (38.96%) while the staff gloves showed the least (9.96%). Based on the wards investigated, surgical theatre showed the highest prevalence rate (20.25±6.55) and ICU had the least prevalence rate (17.75±5.63). The prevalence pattern of Enterobacteria species were significantly (P = .01) dependent on the healthcare outfits. The prevalence pattern between the hospital wards was not significant (P = .59) and there was no significant interaction between the hospital wards and hospital equipment (P = .84).

Conclusion: Enterobacteria species was present in the healthcare outfits (bed pan, ward floor, bed cover and staff gloves). Its prevalence is dependent on these hospital outfits but not influenced by the wards or the interaction between wards and hospital outfits.