Investigation of type and density of bio-aerosols in air samples from educational hospital wards of Kerman city, 2014

Abstract

Background: Bio-aerosols in the air of hospital wards have an important role in the development of infections. It is important to make quantitative and qualitative estimations of microorganisms in the air of these wards as an index for environmental hygiene applicable to different hospital wards. The aim of the study was to investigate degrees of diversity and density of bio-aerosols in the education hospitals of Kerman city. Methods: This study applied a descriptive-cross-sectional methodology in the second half of 2014 in the education hospitals of Kerman city, with bed capacity of over 300. As many as 200 samples were collected from the air in different wards of each hospital using the standard method of the National Occupational Health and Safety Institute. Following collection, samples were placed in an incubator for 48 hours and then bio-aerosol detections were made for and resulting data reported as colonies/m 3 . Results:Results indicated that maximum and minimum degrees of bacterial density were observed in operation rooms and in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Shafa hospital. Furthermore, comparison showed that the operating room at Afzalipour hospital had the lowest level of fungal contamination, while ICU at Bahonar hospital had the highest level of fungal contamination. The emitted fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium along with the bacteria, staphylococci and Acinetobacter had greater frequencies. The means of bacterial density and fungal density were not equal across the studied hospitals and significant statistical, difference was observed between means of bacterial and fungal density (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Amounts of bacterial and fungal density were greater than those proposed in the American Industrial Health State Conference in 73.3% of the wards in the educational hospitals of Kerman city sampled in this study. Therefore it is suggested that implementation of some, necessary measures for continuous monitoring, promotion of hygienic disinfection standards, and ventilation systems are taken more seriously by stipulating regulations to control this important issue in the country's hospitals.

Microbiological analysis of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols from burn hospital of Yazd (Iran) in 2019

“…In addition, they are very resistant to dry and harsh conditions. Since Yazd province, located in central Iran, has dry climate with low rainfall and high evaporation, high number of Staphylococcus species are expected in its atmosphere [25]. The most common species of gram-positive bacteria in the studied hospital was Staphylococcus epidermidis; which is supported by many studies [39][40][41].…”

“…High bacterial contamination in other sites of the hospital can be due to traffic congestion, type of services rendered in each ward, and number of hospitalized patients [25]. Microbial concentration of the hospital's outdoor air was lower than that of the indoor space, because the size of the area can affect air circulation and dilution, which consequently affects microbial concentration of air [36].…”

“…The main bacteria identified in the air samples included Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus pyogenes [25,37]. The most frequent gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus epidermidis 60(62.5%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus 24(25%), and Staphylococcus saprophyticus 1(1%).…”

“…Where, P is the number of colonies grown in plate, T is the sampling time, and Q is the sampling air flow [25].…”

Applying analytic hierarchy process method for quantitative assessment of environmental health factors in hospitals using existing quality checklists: A modeling and field study

“…Any negligence, ignorance, and non-observance of hygiene principles cause irreparable damages (5,9,11). As mentioned, the observance of environmental health rules and standards is an important factor that can break the chain of transmission of these infections and prevent them (12)(13)(14) and any negligence in this field leads to irreparable damages (15).…”