Biorisk management in local mycology laboratories in Egypt

Background: Microbiological laboratories safeguard public health by detecting and responding to biological risks; nevertheless, they can also transmit infection to lab workers and the general population. Aim of the study: Measure the contamination level of laboratory and biosafety cabinet (BSC) air, as well as the contamination level of working benches and BSC surfaces in three local mycology labs in Egypt. Methods: Detect the level of fungal and bacterial contamination in the air and surface of the lab, BSC, and randomly working benches at local mycology labs in Egypt using sterilized cotton swabs and active air sampling (SpinAir®) and compare the level of contamination. Result: The most frequent bacteria isolated from the laboratory air and the surface was Staphylococcus aureus in Lab C (49.16%) and (57.28%) respectively.Aspergillus niger was the commonest fungus isolated from air in lab B (48.78%) and surface in Lab C (42.37%) with significant difference across labs, with p-value = 0.045.However, in BSC air samples, the commonest bacteria isolated was Coagulase-negative staphylococci (43.18%) in lab A, while Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterium isolated from the surface (57.7%) in the same lab. Aspergillus flavus (63.6% in lab B) was the most often isolated fungus from BSC air samples and surface (69.2% in in the same lab). Conclusion: G +ve bacteria and aspergillus spp were the most common isolated organisms from air and surface of labs and BSC. The level of contamination decreased after commitment with bio risk policy.