Cent Eur J Public Health 2022, 30(Supplement):S57-S62 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7241

Occurrence of bacteria belonging to the genus Enterococcus and Staphylococcus on inanimate surfaces of selected hospital facilities and their nosocomial significance

Ondrej Zahornacký1, Štefan Porubčin1, Alena Rovňáková1, Pavol Jarčuška1, Štefánia Andraščíková3, Kvetoslava Rimárová2
1 Department of Infectiology and Travel Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University and Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic
2 Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic
3 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Care, University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovak Republic

Objectives: This work aimed to determine the representation and resistance of bacteria belonging to the genus Staphylococcus and Enterococcus on inanimate surfaces of two selected workplaces of the University Hospital of L. Pasteur in Košice (UHLP) and to investigate their importance in the hospital environment. The men's ward of the Department of Internal Medicine (DIM) and the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (DAIC) were chosen.

Methods: Using sterile sampling kits, a total of 182 swabs were collected from the inanimate surfaces of both UHLP workplaces. The swabs were then transported to a microbiological laboratory and inoculated onto sterile culture media (blood agar containing 5% ram erythrocytes). After culturing (24-48 hours, in a thermostat at constant temperature 37 °C), bacterial colonies were identified by mass spectrometry on a MALDI TOF MS. Bacteria belonging to the genera Staphylococcus and Enterococcus were subsequently separated from the spectrum of identified bacteria. Nosocomial significant strains of staphylococci (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus) and all isolated enterococci were subjected to susceptibility testing for selected antibiotics using the disk diffusion method - E-tests.

Results: Several members of the genus Staphylococcus were identified from the inanimate surfaces of both workplaces. These were mainly coagulase-negative strains - Staphylococcus epidermidis (45), Staphylococcus capitis (34), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (20), Staphylococcus hominis (45), Staphylococcus pasteuri (2), Staphylococcus sroph (1), Staphylococcus simulans (3), and Staphylococcus warneri (4). Staphylococcus aureus strains were also identified (2). Nosocomial significant isolates were tested for susceptibility to the antibiotics cefoxitin (FOX) and oxacillin (OXA). Two members of the genus Enterococcus - Enterococcus faecium (7) and Enterococcus faecalis (8) were isolated. All strains were subject to vancomycin susceptibility testing using the disk method.

Conclusion:

Keywords: nosocomial, inanimate surfaces, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus

Received: December 12, 2021; Revised: February 4, 2022; Accepted: February 4, 2022; Published: June 27, 2022  Show citation

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Zahornacký O, Porubčin Š, Rovňáková A, Jarčuška P, Andraščíková Š, Rimárová K. Occurrence of bacteria belonging to the genus Enterococcus and Staphylococcus on inanimate surfaces of selected hospital facilities and their nosocomial significance. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2022;30(Supplement):S57-62. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a7241. PubMed PMID: 35841227.
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