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THE ANTIBIOTIC PROFILE OF BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM THE MEDICAL WASTES OF TWO HOSPITALS IN ILARO, OGUN STATE
Abstract
Hospital waste acts as store house of harmful infectious pathogens. Nosocomial infections have impacted great burden on hospitals and healthcare systems and have led to deteriorating health condition and deaths. For Ore-Ofe hospital, a total of 93.00 x 10 cfu/g (mean values) bacterial colonies of three different bacteria belonging to three genera were isolated (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella dysenteriae), while a total of 77.67 x 10 cfu/g (mean values) bacterial colonies of also three different bacteria but belonging to two genera were isolated from Hosannah hospital (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enterica). The investigation, for Ore-Ofe hospital, showed that Escherichia coli had a higher bacterial load than Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella dysenteriae. It was also established that Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were both resistant to six out of the thirteen antibiotics used for the assay while Shigella dysenteriae was resistant to five of them. On the other hand, for Hosannah hospital, the investigation showed that Staphylococcus aureus had a higher bacterial load than Staphylococcus epidermidis and Salmonella enterica. It was also established that Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were both resistant to six out of the thirteen antibiotics used for the assay while Salmonella enterica was resistant to five of them. The bacterial isolates all exhibited different antibiotic profiles to the antibiotics that were used for the assay. Medical wastes should be promptly and meticulously discarded from hospitals' premises to avert the inadvertent spread of particularly air-borne infectious agents.
