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Aim: Contracting infectious diseases from microbial contaminated toilet door handles is a potential threat to public health and safety. Therefore we performed microbiological screening of toilet door handles in twelve рublic toilets on Baze University campus for bacterial contamination.
Methodology and Results: Biochemical analysis of bacterial isolates from entrance toilet door handles in six building blocks on Baze University camрus, revealed a general contamination by mainly seven bacterial species associated with human gut and skin flora in order of decreasing frequency as follows: Staphylococcus aureus 42.9%; Salmonella typhimurium 21.4%; Escherichia coli 14.3%; Pseudomonas aeruginosa 9.5%; Proteus mirablis 4.8%; Klebsiella oxytoca 4.8%; and Klebsiella pneumoniae with 2.3% prevalence. Results of the total aerobic mesophillic count showed A-Block with the highest amount of contamination – 768*10⁵CFU/ml, while B-Block had the least amount of bacterial contamination – 473*10⁵CFU/ml. The levels of bacterial contamination in the other blocks were as follows: C-Block – 710*10⁵CFU/ml, D-Block – 695*10⁵CFU/ml, E-Block – 567*10⁵CFU/ml, and FBlock – 743*10⁵ CFU/ml.
Conclusion: Overall of the seven isolated bacterial sрecies five were mainly gut-associated bacteria, suggesting feacal contamination. The others were skin-associated bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus), suggesting routine touch by hands, and soil-associated bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) suggesting contamination from settling dust рarticles. This study is relevant for public health and safety, as its findings reveal the presence of bacterial pathogens on toilet door handles, which is vital in preventing the spread of infectious disease.

Keywords: Toilet door handles, bacterial pathogens, fecal contamination, antibiotic resistance.

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Bacterial contamination of toilet door handles on Baze University campus Abuja Nigeria

Background: Bacteria tend to live in assemblies called biofilms that aid bacterial virulence. Biofilms contribute to the development of antibiotic resistant urinary tract infection. Therefore, detection of biofilm production by urinary pathogens can assist the physicians to initiate the proper antimicrobial treatment.
Methods: We conducted a prospective study that included patients with suspected urinary tract infection. Collected midstream urine samples were processed by standard microbiological techniques. Detection of biofilm production by the isolated uropathogens was conducted by tissue culture plate method (TCPM), tube method (TM) and Congo red agar (CRA).
Results: A total of 43 (29.7%) isolated uropathogens showed positive biofilm formation by TCPM which was considered the gold standard for biofilm detection. When compared with the TCPM, TM truly identified 40 biofilm producers and 83 non-biofilm producers showing sensitivity and specificity of 93.0% and 81.4% respectively. The CRA truly identified 38 biofilm producers and 77 non-biofilm producers with sensitivity and specificity of 88.4% and 75.5% respectively.
Conclusion: The TM was superior to CRA in biofilm detection and demonstrated better sensitivity and specificity results. Out of the investigated three phenotypic biofilm detection methods, the TCPM was the ideal method for detection of biofilm formation by uropathogens isolated from midstream urine samples. It can be used routinely in the microbiology laboratory with good specificity results and less subjectivity errors.

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Tube method and Congo red agar versus tissue culture plate method for detection of biofilm production by uropathogens isolated from midstream urine Which one could be better?