Assessment of microbiological indoor air quality in a public hospital in the city of Agadir, Morocco

Background and Purpose: Air is the greatest dissemination environmental media of pathogenic microbes, which cause significant problem in the indoor hospital environment, in particularly in terms of nosocomial infections. In this context, it is important to know the ypes of microorganisms present in suspended matter in an air sample to assess the initial situation and the effectiveness of corrective measures. Materials and Methods: This study aimed to assess of microbiological indoor air quality ina three hospital units: central resuscitation, neonatal resuscitation and operating room, using a passive sampling method. Results: Findings of this study indicated that the central resuscitation recorded the highest bacterial counts population 3.33 102 CFU/m(3). Total viable count of fungi was recorded high in neonatal resuscitation. This research showed that Staphylococcusnon aureus and Staphylococcus aureus were the most predominant among isolated bacteria. The percentage was 70%-21% in central resuscitation and 79%-13% in operating room. In neonatal resuscitation Staphylococcus non aureus represent (29%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (19%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17%) and Pasteurella pneumotropica (16%). Thus, the fungal and species identified in operating room were Penicillium spp (61%), Aspergillus niger (20%) and Candida glabrata (19%). In neonatal resuscitation, we found Penicillium spp 51%, Candida glabrata 25% and Aspergillus niger 20%. In central resuscitation, the most predominant fungi were Cladosporium spp (30%), Penicillium spp (28%) and Candida glabrata (13%). Conclusions: Microorganisms isolated from indoor air constitute microbial reservoirs that may present a risk of infection for both patients and staff. In this light microbiological monitoring of the environment in health facilities is a topic that is part of the new approach in the prevention of nosocomial infections.