Inhibitory efficiency of various natural and synthetic antibacterial agents against bacteria isolated from a hospital environment

Nosocomial infections pose significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Despite frequent environmental cleaning and disinfection measures, the emergence of antibiotic and disinfectant-resistant bacterial pathogens continues to rise due to the misuse of antimicrobials. In this study, we aimed to identify bacteria isolated from the hospital environment, analyze their antibiotic resistance profiles, and assess their susceptibility to various antimicrobials (thymol (T), thyme oil (TO), zinc pyrithione (ZnPt), magnesium monoperoxyphthalate (MMPP)). Bacteria were isolated from the hospital environment and identified using the VITEK system. Antibiotic resistance profiles were determined using the disc diffusion technique, while the efficacy of different antimicrobials was assessed using the agar well diffusion technique. The isolates comprised 13.0% Staphylococcus hominis, 13.0% Micrococcus sp., 13.0% Staphylococcus sciuri, 27.0% Staphylococcus haemolyticus, 7.0% Staphylococcus warneri, 13.0% Escherichia vulneris, 7.0% Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and 7.0% Kocuria kristinae. It was observed that 10% of the isolates exhibited resistance to the tested antibiotics, while 74% were susceptible. Furthermore, the bacterial isolates demonstrated higher sensitivity to ZnPt compared to other substances, with the sensitivity ranking of alternative disinfectants as ZnPt>T>TO>MMPP. Our findings indicate that bacterial isolates showed a high sensitivity to ZnPt. Therefore, disinfectants containing ZnPt (0.1% concentration) could be effective in combating nosocomial infections.