J Nurs Acad Soc.  1980 Dec;10(2):53-62.

Study of bacterial contamination from the Cockroaches in hospital

• Ko SJ

Abstract

Hospital has a limited environment in which all different patients are accommodated and therefore it should always be maintained as clean as possible in all its aspects. However the habitation of cockroaches which may be frequently observed in hospital gives us a very unfavuoraqble impression. It may not be difficult to presume that cocrkoaches carry various microganisms from ward to ward. This study was carried out from July to the end of August, 1979 with a total of 259 cockroaches captured from the three hospitals and general residences in Seoul. Investigation was made to see what kind of organisms they were imbued with and the results obtained are summarized as follows. Totaly 1) The nine species of the microganisms were isolated from the captured cockroaches and the isolated rate was showed 96.6%. This organisms consisted of Aerobacter aerogenes (29.7%). staphylo-cocci (22,4%). gram negative bacilli (16.6%), E.coli (10.4%), streptococci (9.7%), fugus (7.3), and yeast (0.4%). respectively. 2) The ratio of organism isolated from the cockroaches captured in each hopsital appeared 98 .6% in K pospital. 91.4% in P hospital and 100% in S hospital, respectively, 3) The total ratio of microganisms isolated from cockroaches captured in each ward of the hospitals was 96.9% and that by each ward was 96.0% in medical ward, 98.0% in surgical ward, 96.4% in operating room, and 100% in infant care room. 4) The ratio of the microganisms isolated from the cockroaches captured in the kitchen of each hospital was 94.1% and that in the K and S hospitals was 100% and the P hospital, 83.3%. 5) The germ-carrying ratio of cockroaches captured from the living rooms and kitchens of general residences was 100%. 6) The staphylococci was isolated as 22.4% of 259 the corchrnahes and all of them belonged to negative coagulase. 7) Finaly, E, coli (10.4%) and Aevbartar aerogenea(29.7%) were isolted from the 259 cockroaches. This was sugested that a great number of habitable cockroaches contacts directly with faces.

MeSH Terms

Coagulase
Cockroaches*
Enterobacter aerogenes
Humans
Infant
Infant Care
Operating Rooms
Seoul
Takifugu
Yeasts
Coagulase