HOSTEL IN UNIVERSITY

Mattresses and bed linen are clearly recognized as potential reservoirs for microorganisms and could be vectors of disease transmission. Bedding materials include bed sheets, blankets, towels and personal clothing (night wares). Pathogenic microorganisms can be transmitted from bed linen to human. This study therefore, assessed pathogenic bacterial isolates from bed linen and mattresses in Postgraduate hostels in University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus Samples were swabbed from bed linen and mattresses of Post-graduate Hostels in University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus with sterile swab sticks moistened in normal saline. Heterotrophic bacteria were cultured on nutrient agar, while hemolytic bacteria were isolated on sheep blood agar. Isolated pathogens were subsequently assessed for antibiotic resistance to common antibiotics using Kirby-Bauer Disc Diffusion method. The total bacterial counts of bed linen ranged from 4.00±0.60 x 10 3 cfu/cm2 - 82.1±3.91 x 10 3 cfu/cm2 while the bacterial count from mattress ranged from 4.29±0.31 x 10
3 cfu/cm2- 16.2±0.94 x 10 3 cfu/cm2 . Bacterial isolates identified in bedlinen and mattresses included three (3) Gram negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two (2) Gram positive bacteria: Bacillus mycoides and Staphylococcus aureus. Frequency of occurrence of bacterial isolates from bed linen showed that Escherichia coli was the most occurring bacteria (36.4%) while the least occurring isolate was B. mycoides (5.45%). S. aureus (32.3%) was the most occurring bacterial isolates while the least was B. mycoides (10.8%) from mattresses. Staphylococcus aureuswas positive for Dnase, lipase and hemolysin characteristics, E. coli and Enterobacter cloacae exhibited positive DNase and Lipase characteristics. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest multiple antibiotic resistance (0.36%), followed by Enterobacter cloacae (0.33%) while E. coli had least multiple antibiotic resistance (0.29%). Bed linen and mattresses harboured pathogenic bacteria. There is need to strengthen existing infection control strategies in the postgraduate hostels in order to minimise proliferation of bacteria and diseases occurrence in the hostels.