Assessment of Airborne Bacteria in Healthcare Institutions in the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

An assessment of airborne bacteria in the different healthcare institutions in the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria was carried out in this study. Factors considered in this study were crowding, ventilation, degree of human activities around the hospitals, length of exposure of plates, time of sampling, type of health institution, space, sanitary systems and hygiene practice of hospital staff. An investigation of the air quality and quantity of airborne bacteria in the selected health institutions was carried out using the sedimentation method at the sites of study. The following eight bacterial species were isolated during the study: Bacillus sp., Serratia sp., Streptococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., Proteus sp., Klebsiella sp., Citrobacter sp. and Staphylococcus sp. The occurrence of Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Proteus sp. and Serratia sp. were higher in Lulu Briggs Health Center, while the occurrence of Streptococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., Klebsiella sp. and Citrobacter sp. were higher in University of Port Harcourt (UPTH). The relatively higher occurrence of potentially pathogenic bacteria in UPTH may be attributed to the level of complication of the illnesses and medical cases attended to in the hospital compounded by factors such as poor ventilation, relatively high human population and poor anti-infection control practices.