Assessing the Microbial Burden on Hostel Bed Linens: A Threat to Student Health

Background and Aim: Bed linens, often overlooked as potential reservoirs of pathogens, may harbor a diverse array of microorganisms with implications for human health. This study investigated the microbial contamination of bed linens in female student hostels at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four bed linens (bedspreads and pillowcases) from six randomly selected hostels were swabbed and cultured for bacterial and fungal isolates. The samples were collected aseptically using sterile swap sticks and taken to the research laboratory where a serial dilution test was carried out to isolate and enumerate microorganisms present on the bed linen swaps taken. Furthermore, Biochemical tests of which some included; the indole test, catalase test, gram staining, motility test were conducted to ascertain the specific bacterial strains and comparing with literature, a morphological test was conducted to also determine the specific fungi strain. Disk Diffusion method was used following the McFarland standard to carry out an Antibiotic susceptibility test to determine the bacteria strains susceptible, intermediate or resistant to the different antibiotics on the disk. Results: The research led us to these findings; Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most prevalent bacterium (38%), followed by Bacillus spp. (29%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19%). Isolated fungi included Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium spp., Cladosporium spp., Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium spp., Trichoderma spp., Aspergillus niger, and Mucor spp. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed high susceptibility of Gram-positive isolates to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, and erythromycin. Gram-negative isolates showed high susceptibility to pefloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and spiramycin but resistance to chloramphenicol (67%), amoxicillin (33%), and gentamicin (33%). Conclusion: The findings highlight the potential health risks associated with contaminated bed linens and underscore the need for improved hygiene practices in hostel environments.