Indoor Air Quality in Hospital Settings

Abstract

Humans can be exposed to airborne microorganisms in both residential and hospital indoor environments. The hospital's indoor air may contain a large number of disease-causing microorganisms introduced in by patients, staff, students, visitors, poor ventilation, or the outside environment. Hospitalized patients are at a higher risk of nosocomial infection as a result of confined spaces, overcrowding, and poor infection prevention practices, which can accumulate and create favorable conditions for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the indoor air bacterial load in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia. An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was undertaken. To determine the bacterial load, a passive air sampling technique was used. The settle plate method was used to collect data, which involved exposing Petri-dishes filled with blood agar media to the indoor air of the sampled rooms for 60 minutes. The mean bacterial load ranged from 450 to 1585.83 CFU/m3 after 60 minutes of culture media exposure. The mean bacterial load in the obstetrics, surgical, pediatric, gynecology, and medical wards exceeded WHO guidelines. Gram-positive bacteria in the air were the most common 51 (71%) of the bacterial population measured in all indoor environments. Fungal growth was found in 65 (90.3%) of the samples. Overcrowding, high temperatures, inadequate ventilation, improper waste management, and a lack of traffic flow control mechanisms could all contribute to a high load of bacteria in the indoor air. To control the introduction of microorganisms by patients, students, caregivers, and visitors, it is critical to regularly monitor indoor air bacterial load and implement infection prevention and control measures.