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Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State

Received: 11 March 2021    Accepted: 19 April 2021    Published: 29 April 2021
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Abstract

Microorganisms are present on all surfaces, to which they were carried by many direct and indirect methods of transmission. Bacteria and Parasites contaminating office door handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University were assessed between June and November, 2019. The buildings and the door handles were randomly selected. Sterile swabs moistened in sterile normal saline were used to swab the door handles in a tri-directional manner. The swabs were cultured and subcultured onto nutrient, MacConkey and Salmonella-Shigella agar plates for bacterial growth. The specimens were then examined for parasites using Zinc Sulphate floatation and formol-ether sedimentation techniques. Of the 432 door handles examined, 136 (30.8%) were contaminated. The highest number of contaminated doors were found in Medical Centre 41 (30.1%) and the least in Faculty of Social Sciences Complex 10 (7.4%). E. histolytica 52 (38.2%) was the highest parasite encountered while E. vermicularis 2 (1.5%) was the least. The proportion of infected doors as well as the distribution of different species parasites in the door handles of different complexes examined was significant (P<0.05). Of 432 office door handles examined, 263 (60.9%) yielded bacterial growth. Female hostel 72 (27.4%) had more bacterial contamination while Faculty of Social Sciences 25 (9.5%) had the least. Staphylococcus spp 54 (20.5%) was the highest bacteria isolated, followed by Escherichia 53 (20.2%) while Klebsiella 53 (20.2%) was the least. The distribution of different species of bacteria in the door handles in different complexes was significant (P<0.05). Infectious diseases from microbial contaminated door handles are a potential threat to public health and safety therefore certain measures should be taken such as aggressive and frequent cleaning methods and good hand washing to reduce the incidence of bacterial and parasite transmission and contamination.

Published in American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13
Page(s) 120-127
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bacteria, Parasites, Contamination, Door Handles

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Pauline Ukamaka Umeanaeto, Ugochukwu Chukwuma Okafor, Miracle Chisom Unam, Chidiogo Chidimma Ilo, Chukwudinma Chigozie Okoli, et al. (2021). Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences, 9(2), 120-127. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13

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    ACS Style

    Pauline Ukamaka Umeanaeto; Ugochukwu Chukwuma Okafor; Miracle Chisom Unam; Chidiogo Chidimma Ilo; Chukwudinma Chigozie Okoli, et al. Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. Am. J. Biomed. Life Sci. 2021, 9(2), 120-127. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13

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    AMA Style

    Pauline Ukamaka Umeanaeto, Ugochukwu Chukwuma Okafor, Miracle Chisom Unam, Chidiogo Chidimma Ilo, Chukwudinma Chigozie Okoli, et al. Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. Am J Biomed Life Sci. 2021;9(2):120-127. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13,
      author = {Pauline Ukamaka Umeanaeto and Ugochukwu Chukwuma Okafor and Miracle Chisom Unam and Chidiogo Chidimma Ilo and Chukwudinma Chigozie Okoli and Stella Chinyere Afulukwe and Nnamdi Enoch Nwakoby},
      title = {Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State},
      journal = {American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {120-127},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajbls.20210902.13},
      abstract = {Microorganisms are present on all surfaces, to which they were carried by many direct and indirect methods of transmission. Bacteria and Parasites contaminating office door handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University were assessed between June and November, 2019. The buildings and the door handles were randomly selected. Sterile swabs moistened in sterile normal saline were used to swab the door handles in a tri-directional manner. The swabs were cultured and subcultured onto nutrient, MacConkey and Salmonella-Shigella agar plates for bacterial growth. The specimens were then examined for parasites using Zinc Sulphate floatation and formol-ether sedimentation techniques. Of the 432 door handles examined, 136 (30.8%) were contaminated. The highest number of contaminated doors were found in Medical Centre 41 (30.1%) and the least in Faculty of Social Sciences Complex 10 (7.4%). E. histolytica 52 (38.2%) was the highest parasite encountered while E. vermicularis 2 (1.5%) was the least. The proportion of infected doors as well as the distribution of different species parasites in the door handles of different complexes examined was significant (PStaphylococcus spp 54 (20.5%) was the highest bacteria isolated, followed by Escherichia 53 (20.2%) while Klebsiella 53 (20.2%) was the least. The distribution of different species of bacteria in the door handles in different complexes was significant (P<0.05). Infectious diseases from microbial contaminated door handles are a potential threat to public health and safety therefore certain measures should be taken such as aggressive and frequent cleaning methods and good hand washing to reduce the incidence of bacterial and parasite transmission and contamination.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of Parasites and Bacterial Contamination of Office Door Handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State
    AU  - Pauline Ukamaka Umeanaeto
    AU  - Ugochukwu Chukwuma Okafor
    AU  - Miracle Chisom Unam
    AU  - Chidiogo Chidimma Ilo
    AU  - Chukwudinma Chigozie Okoli
    AU  - Stella Chinyere Afulukwe
    AU  - Nnamdi Enoch Nwakoby
    Y1  - 2021/04/29
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13
    T2  - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences
    JO  - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences
    SP  - 120
    EP  - 127
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-880X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20210902.13
    AB  - Microorganisms are present on all surfaces, to which they were carried by many direct and indirect methods of transmission. Bacteria and Parasites contaminating office door handles in Nnamdi Azikiwe University were assessed between June and November, 2019. The buildings and the door handles were randomly selected. Sterile swabs moistened in sterile normal saline were used to swab the door handles in a tri-directional manner. The swabs were cultured and subcultured onto nutrient, MacConkey and Salmonella-Shigella agar plates for bacterial growth. The specimens were then examined for parasites using Zinc Sulphate floatation and formol-ether sedimentation techniques. Of the 432 door handles examined, 136 (30.8%) were contaminated. The highest number of contaminated doors were found in Medical Centre 41 (30.1%) and the least in Faculty of Social Sciences Complex 10 (7.4%). E. histolytica 52 (38.2%) was the highest parasite encountered while E. vermicularis 2 (1.5%) was the least. The proportion of infected doors as well as the distribution of different species parasites in the door handles of different complexes examined was significant (PStaphylococcus spp 54 (20.5%) was the highest bacteria isolated, followed by Escherichia 53 (20.2%) while Klebsiella 53 (20.2%) was the least. The distribution of different species of bacteria in the door handles in different complexes was significant (P<0.05). Infectious diseases from microbial contaminated door handles are a potential threat to public health and safety therefore certain measures should be taken such as aggressive and frequent cleaning methods and good hand washing to reduce the incidence of bacterial and parasite transmission and contamination.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Biosciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

  • Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing, Faculty of Biosciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

  • Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing, Faculty of Biosciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

  • Department of Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Biosciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

  • Hospital Management Board, Laboratory Unit, Kuje General Hospital, FCTA, Abuja

  • Department of Anatomy, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria

  • Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria

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