Determination of the indoor air bacterial profile in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Microorganisms are one of the main indoor air contaminants. In a hospital setting, a range of hospital-acquired infectious diseases are caused due to indoor air pollution. Studies conducted on hospital patients and healthcare workers revealed that indoor air pollution is causing more severe health problems than outdoor air pollution. Thus, this study aimed to determine the bacterial indoor air quality in Jimma University Specialized Hospital in southwest Ethiopia. METHOD: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from late May to October 2020. Indoor air samples were collected through a passive method by exposing prepared sample plates for prescheduled exposure time, and bacterial species were identified using morphology and biochemical tests. RESULT: Based on the findings, neither of the wards showed a similar microbial concentration. Among the studied wards, the minimum and the maximum bacterial distribution ranged from 280 to 6369 cfu/m(3), respectively. Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative spp., Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp., Proteus spp., and Streptococcus spp. were bacterial isolates. Statistically, the concentration of the bacteria in all the studied wards was tested significantly different (p ⩽ 0.001). CONCLUSION: Among studied wards, the emergency outpatient ward showed a maximum bacterial concentration in contrast to the minor operating room. Based on the criteria of the World Health Organization on hospital-acquired infections, studied wards were highly contaminated.