BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF DOOR HANDLES IN MURANGA DISTRICT HOSPITAL, MURANGA COUNTY, KENYA

Background: Door handles are documented as breeding grounds for pathogens and presents as focal point of high risk common contact surfacing which facilitates transmission of pathogens within the hospital buildings. Hand hygiene has been singled out as the most important and one of the most effective means of preventing pathogens associated with health care services. Broad objective: The objective of the study was to determine the type of bacterial contaminants on door handles within Muranga District Hospital. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 122 door-handles of buildings within Muranga District Hospital were tested for presence of bacteria. Results: The findings showed that 68 doors did not indicate disease causing bacteria. The highest frequencies of disease causing bacteria were E. coli and Citrobacter ssp at a frequency of 11 each. The lowest disease causing bacteria was P. aeruginosa at a frequency of 6. The department had no significance on the type of pathogens identified because Pearson chi-square value was 47.784 at P = 0.923(value of P > 0.05 then the null hypothesis is accepted). The type of door handle had a high significance on the pathogens identified. This is because the Pearson chi-square value was 58.954 at P = 0.001(value of P < 0.05 then the null hypothesis is rejected). Conclusion: The most contaminated door handles in MDH were in the morgue followed closely by those in OPD and ward 6/7. Majority of the bacterial isolates were nonpathogenic. Pathogenic bacteria were Gram negative while the nonpathogenic were Gram positive.