Bacteriological Assessment of Toilet Seats in a Nigerian University

Abstract

Exposure to enteric pathogens through direct contact with contaminated toilets surfaces and associated water is one of the major sources of disease transmission in public settings. The bacterial profile of toilet seats in students’ dormitories was investigated to determine the pattern of bacterial contamination of public toilet seats in a university setting. Samples were collected from the male and female hostels in the University, and Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count (THBC) as well as Fecal Coliform Counts (FCC) were carried out using standard microbiological procedures. The male hostels had a mean THBC of 11.4 ± 4.9 x 105 cfu/ml and 2.7 ± 0.7 x105 cfu/ml for the water and swab samples collected from the toilet bowl (WC), respectively. The female hostels on the other hand had a mean THBC of 7.7 ± 0.6 x 105 cfu/ml and 2.0 ± 2.7 x 105 cfu/ml for the water and swab samples from the WC, respectively. The result also revealed that the water in the WC accounted for 80.7% of the bacterial isolates while the toilet seat surfaces accounted for 19.3%. However, there was a statistical difference in the bacterial counts between the male and female hostels as well as the water and swab samples from the WC (p < 0.05). A total of thirty seven isolates (37) belonging to five (5) genera were identified as Staphylococcus spp. (32.4%), Bacillus spp (32.4%), Klebsiella spp (13.5%), Escherichia coli (13.5%), as well as Coccobacilli (8.2%). This research has shown the pattern of bacterial contamination of toilet seats and the potential pathogenic bacteria that may pose health challenges. Reduction in the number of students per toilet as well as proper sanitary practice is recommended, to prevent toilet associated infections amongst students.

Prevalence and Antibiogram of Biofilm Forming Bacteria Associated with Toilet Seats in Dormitories within a University Campus in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

“…Thus, they would withstand heat and cause food borne illness. This study therefore collaborates with the findings by earlier researchers that noted the role of toilets in the University environments serving as a reservoir for bacterial [3,8,12] and fungal pathogens [16].…”

“…The sources of pathogens in public toilets are usually from fecal and urine residues from humans accessing these facilities. This provide an ideal condition for the horizontal spread of pathogens, which may in turn bring about disease outbreak [3], that are usually occasioned by improper cleaning and disinfection of restroom facilities [4,5].…”

Public Toilets in a tertiary institution in the Southern part of Nigeria as Potential Reservoirs of Drug Resistant Pathogens

“…Similar to reports by previous studies, this study observed high levels of bacterial load (3.6×10 4 -2.7×10 5 CFU/cm 3 ; 4.46 -5.43 Log10 CFU) associated with the various toilet surfaces. The load in this study was slightly higher than that described by Odigie and colleagues (3.43 to 4.90 Log10 CFU), much lower than that described by Alonge and colleagues who reported figures above 1.0×10 7 CFU/ml and similar to reports by Sampson and colleagues (Odigie et al, 2017;Alonge et al, 2019;Sampson et al, 2019). Comparison could not be made with a number of other studies which simply reported high levels of bacterial contamination without presenting information on specific levels of bacterial load (Bashir et al, 2016;Abiose 2019).…”

Impact of Abattoir Activities on the Physicochemical and Bacteriological Properties of Soil Samples from Choba Slaughter, Rivers State, Nigeria

“…The study revealed a high rate of sensitivity of the bacterial isolates to Sensitive the antibiotics tested. This high rate of sensitivity could be explained based on the fact that prior exposure of the isolate to these antibacterial drugs play a role in their resistance [27,28].…”