Detection of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli in Fomites of Different Maternity Hospitals and Clinics within Metro Manila

Abstract

Nosocomial infections pose a huge threat on the recovery of patients in maternity hospitals and clinics. The most common infection they could obtain is urinary tract infection (UTI), which has maternal and perinatal outcomes. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli is the main causative organism of this infection so it is important to determine the presence and compare colony counts of uropathogenic E. coli occurring between primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals in order to provide basis for study and formation of guidelines for prevention of these infections. Based on the high probability of getting physical contact by patients and health personnel, four fomites were selected. These were the rim of the bedpans, the toilet seat, knobs and floors of the shower and handles and foams of bed in the maternity wards. Swab inoculation method was performed at the fomites to obtain the bacterial samples. Results showed that all the three types of hospitals contained significant number of E. coli which corresponds to colony counts greater than 103 CFU/ml. The highest bacterial colony count was found in tertiary hospitals (1.07 x 1011cfu/ml). This was followed by the secondary hospitals (7.04 x 101°cfu/ml). Primary hospitals had the least bacterial colony count (2.64 x 101°cfu/ml) where most bacteria were isolated from the toilet. Statistical analysis supports these observations. Kruskal Wallis indicates that there is no significant difference in the mean cfu/ml among the three types of hospitals (p= 0.926). This indicates that patients in the hospitals may have high probabilities of acquiring nosocomial uropathogens which may cause recurrent infections and unwanted complications.