Diversity of Bacterial Communities on Four Frequently Used Surfaces in a Large Brazilian Teaching Hospital

Frequently used hand-touch surfaces in hospital settings have been implicated as a vehicle of microbial transmission. In this study, we aimed to investigate the overall bacterial population on four frequently used surfaces using a culture-independent Illumina massively parallel sequencing approach of the 16S rRNA genes. Surface samples were collected from four sites, namely elevator buttons (EB), bank machine keyboard buttons (BMKB), restroom surfaces, and the employee biometric time clock system (EBTCS), in a large public and teaching hospital in São Paulo. Taxonomical composition revealed the abundance of Firmicutes phyla, followed by Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, with a total of 926 bacterial families and 2832 bacterial genera. Moreover, our analysis revealed the presence of some potential pathogenic bacterial genera, including Salmonella enterica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. The presence of these pathogens in frequently used surfaces enhances the risk of exposure to any susceptible individuals. Some of the factors that may contribute to the richness of bacterial diversity on these surfaces are poor personal hygiene and ineffective routine schedules of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Strict standards of infection control in hospitals and increased public education about hand hygiene are recommended to decrease the risk of transmission in hospitals among patients.