ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to evaluate the bacteriological quality of bedsheets among students of the University of Benin residing in the halls of residence. A standard questionnaire was designed to obtain socio-demographic information and bedsheet-handling practices from respondents in the halls of residence. The bacteriological evaluation involved using swab sticks moistened with sterile saline to sample a defined dimension of the bedsheet (150 cm2 ) and culture using the pour plate method. Cultural, morphological and biochemical tests were used for identification of the bacteria. Phenotypic virulence properties such as hemolysin, lipase and DNAse production were evaluated, and the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was employed for antibacterial sensitivity testing. The results revealed that 98.9% of respondents who filled out the questionnaire had bedsheets, and the xii same percentage of students used bedsheets. On average, about 37.9% of students/respondents had two bedsheets, while 32.6% had three bedsheets. It was also revealed that 42.1% of the respondents wash their bedsheets once a week, while 15.8% wash them once a month. Similarly, 38.9% of the students change their bedsheets once every week, while 9.5% of the respondents revealed that they change their sheets once a month. It was also revealed that 58.9% of the respondents used their bedsheets alone, while 32.6% shared their bed with one or two others. More so, 48.4% of the respondents sometimes lay on the mattress without using the bedsheets, and 29.5% do this occasionally. Based on the frequency of washing bedsheets, the heterotrophic bacterial counts ranged from log10 0.87±0.49 cfu/cm2 (twice a week) to log10 2.67±0.09 cfu/cm2 (once a month). The identified bacterial isolates were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus mycoides, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enterica. Bacillus (31.25%) and Staphylococcus (25.00%) were the most frequently occurring bacterial isolates. The phenotypic virulence properties of the isolates showed that they were capable of hemolysin and lipase production, while Staphylococcus aureus was positive for all three phenotypic virulence tests. All isolates were resistant to tetracycline, colistin, metronidazole and augmentin. They were, however, sensitive to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and clindamycin. The multiple antibiotic resistance index of the bacterial isolates ranged from 0.44 (S. aureus) to 0.67 (Escherichia coli). The isolates were above the permissible limit of 0.2; thus, they are multidrug-resistant isolates of public health importance.
