Abstract
Cockroaches are common in the environment of many hospitals in Ghana; however, little is known about their public health risks. To evaluate potential risks, we investigated the external and internal microbial flora of 61 cockroaches from a tertiary hospital in Ghana and evaluated the antibiotic resistance profiles of the common bacterial species. Standard methods were used in all the microbiological investigations and antibiotic susceptibility testing. A rotavirus carriage rate of 19.7% was observed among the cockroaches. Four types of intestinal parasites were carried externally by the cockroaches, and the most prevalent was Hookworm (4.9%). Eight nosocomial bacteria were isolated from the cockroaches, and the most prevalent was Klebsiella pneumoniae, which occurred internally in 29.5% of the cockroaches and 26.2% externally. Multiple drug resistance among common bacteria isolated from the cockroaches ranged from 13.8% (Escherichia coli) to 41.1% (Klebsiella pneumoniae). Cockroaches constitute an important reservoir for pathogenic microorganisms, and may be important vectors of multiple resistant nosocomial pathogens in the studied hospital.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 59-66 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Environ Health Insights |
Volume | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published (VoR) - 2013 |
Funding
We wish to thank staff of the Departments of Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, who offered technical assistance in this work.
Funders | Funder number |
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University of Ghana Business School |
Keywords
- Klebsiella pneumoniae antibiotic resistance cockroach hookworm nosocomial rotavirus