Extent of microbiological contamination among swabs drawn from selected wards and kitchens at AL -Yarmouk Teaching Hospital in Baghdad –Iraq

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the level of contamination in different hospital's wards and kitchens in AL-Yarmouk teaching hospital in Baghdad -Iraq. Method:The study was done from the 1 st of January, 2017 to the 30 th of June, 2019. A total of 7742sterile cotton swabs were collected randomly from the following wards: Burns, RCU, CCU, NICU, (Dialysis, Bronchoscopy, Endoscopy) unites and Kitchens. Samples were cultured in different agars and incubated for 24-48 hrs at 25 °C and 37 °C for fungi and bacterial growth, respectively.Results: Out of 7742 sample, 1227 swabs were reported positive. By 2017, Gram-positive bacteria were more prevalent with 59.5%, and Bacillus was the most common isolated .The rates of Gram-negative bacteria became more predominant with 54.9% and 69.4% in 2018 and 2019, respectively and E. coli was the main isolated bacteria with prevalence rates of 32.1% in (2018) and 42.4% in (2019). The most contaminated wards were