Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Bacteriological Evaluation of Indoor Air Quality in Some Selected Units at the University of Cape Coast Hospital in Ghana

Geoffrey Saah Botchway, Hubert Danquah Nyarko, Juliana Amoah, Emmanuel Birikorang

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 1–8 · Published 26 Dec 2023

10.9734/mrji/2023/v33i11-121411

Abstract

A hospital is an environment solely for diagnosing and treating patients. Contemporary research, however, reveals the possibility of users contracting diseases due to many factors, such as poor air quality. This research, therefore, delves into the critical indoor air quality assessment domain, focusing on selected units within the University of Cape Coast Hospital, Ghana. The study’s primary objective was to conduct a comprehensive microbial assessment of indoor air quality in eight different units (emergency room, operating theater, out-patient department, consulting rooms, laboratory, male ward, female ward, and ear, nose, and throat unit) of the hospital, shedding light on potential airborne bacteria present. Indoor and outdoor air were sampled using Koch’s sedimentation method. Colony forming units per cubic meter of air (cfu/m3) were determined with the Omeliansky formula. The bacteriological load within the units revealed that the out-patient department had the highest bacterial concentration (139.2±60.32×102 cfu/m3), immediately followed by Outdoor (135.1±43.63×102 cfu/m3), whereas ear, nose, and throat unit recorded the least concentration (0.4±0.57×102 cfu/m3). The remaining units range between 135.1±43.63×102 cfu/m3 and 0.4±0.57×102 cfu/m3. The morphological characteristics of the seven observed bacterial isolates (GSB 1-7) showed the presence of two cocci and five rods. Isolates 1 and 4 had a rhizoid form, isolates 2,3, and 5 had a circular form, while isolates 6 and 7 had filamentous forms. All isolates showed positive gram tests, and endospores were detected in isolates 1, 4, and 6. Bacterial isolates were identified as Bacillus mycoides, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus circulans, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Bacillus subtilis, and Micrococcus sp. These outcomes indicate bacterial contaminations in the indoor environment, likely to pose a significant risk to patients, workers, and visitor’s safety. Therefore, rigorous monitoring and mitigation strategies are essential to ensure a safer environment in healthcare settings.

Bacteria microorganisms contaminants culture indoor air quality

References (21)

  1. 1 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [DOI]
  2. 2 Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology [DOI]
  3. 3 Germination of Spores of Bacillus Species: What We Know and Do Not Know [DOI]
  4. 4 Jawetz, Melnick & Adelberg's Medical Microbiology
  5. 5 Bioaerosols in Indoor Environment - A Review with Special Reference to Residential and Occupational Locations [DOI]
  6. 6 Investigating Microbial (Micro)colony Heterogeneity by Vibrational Spectroscopy [DOI]
  7. 7 One Health in hospitals: how understanding the dynamics of people, animals, and the hospital built-environment can be used to better inform interventions for antimicrobial-resistant gram-positive infections [DOI]
  8. 8 Hospital indoor air quality and its relationships with building design, building operation, and occupant-related factors: A mini-review [DOI]
  9. 9 Monitoring Indoor Airborne Fungi and Bacteria in the Different Areas of Trakya University Hospital, Edirne, Turkey [DOI]
  10. 10 Microbial air contamination in indoor environment of a university library.
  11. 11 Exploring Bacterial Diversity in Hospital Environments by GS-FLX Titanium Pyrosequencing [DOI]
  12. 12 Introduction to indoor air quality [DOI]
  13. 13 Nosocomial Infections [DOI]
  14. 14 Microbial load of indoor airborne bacteria and fungi in a teaching hospital in Ghana [DOI]
  15. 15 High bacterial load of indoor air in hospital wards: the case of University of Gondar teaching hospital, Northwest Ethiopia [DOI]
  16. 16 Airborne fungi in Isfahan and evaluation of allergenic responses of their extracts in animal model
  17. 17 Fungal contaminations of indoor and outdoor air of buildings of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana [DOI]
  18. 18 Assessment of Fungal Propagules in Some Selected Banking Halls of the University of Cape Coast Community, Ghana [DOI]
  19. 19 MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS [DOI]
  20. 20 Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine [DOI]
  21. 21 British Microbiology Research Journal [DOI]

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

49

Page views

0

PDF downloads

22

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.