Antibiograms of Staphylococcus aureus as Microbial Carriage Via Shuttle Door Handles at University of Jos, Nigeria

Shuttle door handles as fomites are contributing to the spread of infections, by harboring and retaining pathogens for extended periods. The microbial transmission of infection via shuttle door handles constitutes a major threat to public health especially in the developing countries. This study was carried out to investigate the Antibiogram and microbial carriage on shuttle door handles of University of Jos Teaching Hospital. A total of 50 swab-samples were collected from the handles of university of Jos shuttle buses. Samples were collected by swabbing the handles of the shuttle buses with sterile cotton swab sticks moistened with sterile physiological saline water. The cotton swab-sticks were then immediately transferred to the laboratory within 15 minutes of collection for microbial analysis. Enumeration of the bacterial counts were carried out using pour plating technique while the bacteria isolates were identified using cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. The antibiotics pattern of the bacteria indicated that all the bacteria isolated were sensitive to Cpx(93.3), Au(100), Gn(100), Pet(100), Lev(100), Ofx(76.9), Spx(33.9) Apx(8.3) while some are resistant to Sep(100), Apx(91.7), Spx(66.7), Ofx(31.3), and Cpx(6.7). Findings concluded that the campus shuttles door handles used in public transportation could also be serving as a means of transmission of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms which pose public health risks. Personal hygiene and sanitation such as hand washing and the use of antimicrobial wipe to clean the hands could serve as a means of reducing the incidence of microbial transmission.