Antibiotic Profile of Bacteria Isolated from Computer Keyboards at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Augustine Ebele Mbachu¹, Emilia Chinecherem Menkiti² and Nancy Amalachukwu Mbachu³

^1,2 Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

³ Department of Human Biochemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Nigeria.

Abstract

A computer keyboard is an input device used to enter characters and functions into the computer system. Owing to the fact that computers are not routinely disinfected in a working environment, it has a great propensity for the transmission of disease-causing microorganisms. This study was therefore aimed at isolating bacteria in computer keyboards at some locations in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, and evaluating their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. A total of 50 swab samples were collected from four different locations of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, using the swab-rinse method. Bacteria isolation and identification were carried out using standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out using the disk-diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar. Eight bacterial isolates, including Enterococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp. and E. coli, were obtained from the study. The highest overall percentage occurrence of 26.67% was recorded by S. aureus, while Streptococcus sp. recorded the least overall percentage occurrence of 3.33%. The highest overall susceptibility (60%) to the various antibiotics was observed with S. epidermidis, E. coli and Micrococcus sp., while the least susceptibility pattern of 30% was recorded with S. aureus and Streptococcus sp. All the isolates demonstrated multi-drug resistance (MDR) to two or more of the commonly used antibiotics tested. Thus, the presence of pathogenic bacteria on computer keyboards in the working environment is worrisome and calls for public health attention. There is, therefore, a need to disinfect contact surfaces such as computer keyboards to minimize transmission of diseases in a working environment.

Keywords: Anti-bacterial agent, Bacteria; Computer keyboards, Drug resistance, Microbiological technique, Public health.

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