Bacteriological Assessment of Critical Areas in Three Selected Units in Jodhpur Dental College General Hospital, Jodhpur Rajasthan, India

The hospital environment plays a crucial role in the chain of infection spread. Thus, there is need to attack the chain of infection at its weakest link as the most effective way in combating and/or preventing nosocomial infections. The study aims to assess the common aerobic pathogenic bacteria in the different departments of Jodhpur National University Dental Hospital and to establish the best disinfectant as well as disinfection procedure. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted.  Air and surface samples were taken before and after dental procedures from all the three departments within durations of 14 days. Different antiseptics were used so as to compare their effectiveness. Swabs taken from different places were streaked on blood agar plates and incubated at 37oC under aerobic conditions for 24 hours. After incubation, isolates obtained were appropriately identified. After aerobic incubation of the settle plates at 370C for 24hours, the colonies on each plate were counted and recorded as the number of bacteria carrying particles settling over the area of the plate in a given period of time. The level of bacterial contamination of air is usually expressed as the number of bacteria carrying particles per cubic millimeter. A total of 274 surface samples and 97 air samples were collected. Bacteria were isolated in all air samples while only 255 surface samples had growth. The predominant species in all services was Bacillus spp, followed by coagulase negative Staphylococci, Micrococcus luteus, aerobic spore formers and least was Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  The bacteria isolated in the air were similar to those isolated from surfaces. In conclusion, lack of a universal procedure for surveillance of nosocomial infection, presence of pathogenic bacteria, poor hand hygiene and heavy contamination of some important surfaces are the most important problems in our hospitals.