BackgroundHealthcare-associated infections have become a public health problem, creating a new burden on medical care in hospitals. The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria poses a difficult task for physicians, who have limited therapeutic options. The dissemination of pathogens depends on “reservoirs”, the different transmission pathways of the infectious agents and the factors favouring them. Contaminated environmental surfaces are an important potential reservoir for the transmission of many healthcare-associated pathogens. Pathogens can survive or persist in the environment for months and be a source of infection transmission when appropriate hygiene and disinfection procedures are inefficient. The aim of this study was to identify bacterial species from hospital surfaces in order to effectively prevent healthcare-associated infections.MethodsSamples were taken from surfaces at the University Hospital of Abomey-Calavi/So-Ava in South Benin (West Africa). To achieve the objective of this study, 160 swab samples of hospital surfaces were taken as recommended by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14698-1). These samples were analysed in the bacteriology section of the National Laboratory for Biomedical Analysis. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics 21 software. A Chi Square Test was used to test the association between the Results of culture samples and different care units.ResultsOf the 160 surface samples, 65% were positive for bacteria. The frequency of isolation was predominant in Paediatrics (87.5%). The positive samples were 64.2% Gram-positive bacteria and 35.8% of Gram-negative bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus predominated (27.3%), followed by Bacillus spp. (23.3%).The proportion of other microorganisms was negligible. S. aureus and Staphylococcus spp. were present in all care units. There was a statistically significant association between the Results of culture samples and different care units (χ2 = 12.732; p = 0.048).ConclusionThe bacteria found on the surfaces of the University Hospital of Abomey-Calavi/So-Ava’s care environment suggest a risk of healthcare-associated infections. Adequate hospital hygiene measures are required. Patient safety in this environment must become a training priority for all caregivers.

État des lieux des infections associées aux soins dans deux hôpitaux publics du sud Benin: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Zone d'

Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Hospital environment is sometimes the reservoir of pathogens that can be passed on to patients in different ways. The emergence of multi-resistant bacteria aggravates this situation, especially in a context of very limited therapeutic options. The objective of this study was to identify the bacterial species present on the environmental surfaces of the Cotonou 5 Hospital in order to control the contamination and the spread of pathogens. This aim was achieved by examining 165 samples, 135 (81.82%) of which had positive bacterial culture. The frequency of isolation was predominant in the intensive care unit (95%), emergency department (95%) and paediatrics (85%). In addition 49.77% of the positive bacterial cultures were Gram-positive and 50.20% were Gram-negative bacteria. Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were identified in all surveyed hospital units. Among the Gram-negative isolates, Enterobacteriaceae were more abundant (31.19%), followed by Non-fermenting gramnegative bacilli (16.75%). This study revealed that different bacterial species were present on the hospital surfaces of the Cotonou 5 Hospital. It is a reflection of the level of implementation of hospital hygiene rules and the risk of the resulting healthcare-associated infections. However, the spread of pathogenic strains can be controlled by appropriate hospital hygiene measures.