Compelling Evidence of Bacterial Pharyngeal Colonization among Clinical Sciences Students

Abstract

Background: Upper respiratory tract is one of the commonest sites for microbial colonization, and the colonized individuals are at risk of infection, and medical students are frequently exposed to a variety of infections agents and are more likely to get colonized by them. The current study aimed To determine the frequency of pharyngeal bacterial colonization among clinical students. Methods: A total of  140 throat swab was collected from study participants, among them, 70 clinical students were enrolled, and 70 nonclinical subjects were recruited as a control group. Isolated bacteria were identified using ordinary laboratory techniques (Gram staining and biochemical tests). Result: Among clinical participants, there were 16 (80%) of them in the age group 20–25 years of age, Frequency of pharyngeal carriage in studied subjects were 29(20.7%), 23(32.9%) of clinical sciences students were significantly carry the virulent bacterial pathogen, while only 6 (8.6%) of the control group have clinical pharyngeal bacteria (P-value ≤ 0.001). S. aureus was carried among 11 (15.7%) clinical sciences students, followed by S. pneumoniae 3 (4.3%), P. aeruginosa, and Haemophilusspp 2 (2.9%). Penicillin and Ciprofloxacin resistance was high frequent, statistically, significant differences were also revealed in the clinical sciences students group who have had a past history of respiratory infection, were 13/16 (80%), and 6/7 (85.7%) of them frequently carried gram-positive bacteria and negative bacteria respectively (p. value =0.023) Conclusion: Clinical students complain of a high frequency of bacterial throat colonization, and then multidrug-resistant of bacterial strain. Such evidence may increase the possibility that clinical students play role in the transmission and dissemination of the infection for others.