Microbial Carriage of Cockroaches at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Ghana

Patience B. Tetteh-Quarcoo, Eric S. Donkor, Simon K. Attah, Kwabena O. Duedu, Emmanuel Afutu, Isaac Boamah, Michael Olu-Taiwo, Isaac Anim-Baidoo, Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

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 languageEnglish
JournalEnvironmental Health Insights
Volume7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Klebsiella pneumoniae
  • antibiotic resistance
  • cockroach
  • hookworm
  • nosocomial
  • rotavirus

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