Identification, Antibiotic and Disinfectant Sensitivity Profile of Bacteria Isolated from Door Handles / Knobs and Door Keys

Introduction: Million and trillions of microscopic organisms are found in our environment.Most of them are beneficial but some of them are detrimental which causes diseases and infections.They are present on all inanimate objects or surfaces and transmit by many direct and indirect method (Ngonda, 2017). Objective:The aim of this study is to develop awareness about contaminated door handles/ knobs and door keys which are responsible for community acquired infections as well as hospital acquired infections.Methodology: Bacterial contaminating door handles/ knobs and door keys were assessed during studies.Sterile cotton swabs moistened with sterile normal saline were used to obtain the samples by scrubbing door handles/knobs and door keys in a tri directional manner: up/down, left/right and diagonally, recapped and properly labeled (Amala et al., 2015).Samples then immersed in the sterile nutrient broth to be transported to the lab within 30 minutes of collection.In order to identify bacteria, gram staining and biochemical testing were done and to check the antibiotic and disinfectant susceptibility profiles (Wanja et al., 2020), we followed the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method (Bauer, 1966). Result:The prevelance and % occurrence of bacteria isolated from door handles/ knobs and door keys are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.An antibiotic susceptibility test was carried on the isolates and the results compared with Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines (Wayne, 2017).Study showed resistance of Staphylococcus spp to penicillin (10g) and erythromycin (15g).Escherichia coli to gentamycin (10g), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (25g) and meropenem (10g).Klebsiella spp and Pseudomonas spp to meropenem (10g), amikacin (30g) and ciprofloxacin (5g).A disinfectant susceptibility test was performed on the isolates and study showed that Staphylococcus spp, Klebsiella spp, Escherichia coli were highly sensitive to Dettol, while Pseudomonas spp were resistant to it.Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were efficacious against Staphylococcus spp, Klebsiella spp, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp.Bleach inhibited Klebsiella spp and Escherichia coli and was efficient against biofilms produced by Pseudomonas spp and Staphylococcus sp.While detergent, ethanol and hand wash showed moderate inhibition to no inhibition. Conclusion:Door handles / knobs and door keys are reservoirs for many pathogenic microorganisms.Therefore, certain measures should be taken, such as proper handwashing is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick and prevent the spread of germs to others.Secondly, frequent disinfecting reduces the incidence of bacterial transmission and contamination.