Disposal habits and microbial load of solid medical waste in sub-district healthcare facilities and households in Yilo-Krobo municipality, Ghana

Abstract

The study aimed to assess disposal practices and quantify the microbial load present in SMW from ten sub-district level healthcare facilities and 385 households in Yilo Krobo municipality, Ghana. Disposal of solid medical waste (SMW) was assessed by questionnaire-based surveys, unstructured interviews and field observations. Microbiological analysis identified species and counts of bacteria present in SMW from both sources. Sociodemographic factors influencing the method of SMW disposal in households were evaluated using logistic regression analysis, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Open burning (29%), burying (25%) and disposal at a dumpsite (49%) were common methods used by households to discard SMW. SMW disposal at a dumpsite was associated with age of respondents in households. Older people (50+ years) were three times more likely to place SMW in household waste later discarded at a dumpsite, compared to younger persons (20–30 years) [a0R, 95%CI = 3.37, 1.41–8.02]. In sub-district level healthcare facilities, open burning and burying were the most common methods used. Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium tetani, Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobacter spp. Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecium) were bacteria identified in SMW recovered from both the healthcare facilities and the households. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter spp. and Clostridium tetani were found exclusively in untreated SMW generated in the healthcare facilities. Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. were found in one sample of treated SMW. The microbial load in SMW from healthcare facilities and households ranged from 0.036 x 103cfc/mg to 0.167 x 103 cfc/mg and from 0.118 x 103cfc/mg to 0.125 x 103cfc/mg respectively. This highlights the need for institutionalizing appropriate treatment methods in sub-district level facilities or strengthening the linkages with higher level facilities to ensure regular and adequate treatment of SMW. Public guidance on management of SMW generated in households which is context specific should also be provided.

Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Soil-Borne Microorganisms Isolated from Selected Dump-sites in Ogbomoso, Oyo State

“…The majority of the microorganisms detected in this study are soil-dwelling species that collaborate to develop symbiotic relationships in the soil (O'Callaghan et al, 2022).They make up a significant amount of the nutrients in the soil, which are constantly transferred into the plant growth cycles by the system (Leghariet al,2016). The report of Egbenyah et al (2021), which identified Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from dump-sites'soils, is consistent with all of the bacteria reported in this study. Also a study by Bassey et al (2021) identified bacterial taxa belonging to genera such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas,Enterobacter, and Clostridium as predominant in dump-site soils and this agrees with bacteria identified in this study.Bacillus subtilis had the highest prevalence of occurrence in this study and is a common soil bacterium known for its ubiquity and ability to thrive in various environments, including dump-sites.…”

Evaluation of pre-treated healthcare wastes during COVID-19 pandemic reveals pathogenic microbiota, antibiotics residues, and antibiotic resistance genes against beta-lactams

“…While the former microbiological assessments of HCW using culture-dependent methods provided limited information, the use of high-throughput next-generation (NGS) sequencing sheds light on the identification of known and unknown microbial communities present in HCW with pinpoint precision ( Egbenyah et al, 2021 ; Joshi et al, 2020 ). In this explorative study, we aimed to characterize the complete microbial communities using high-throughput NGS on Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) platform and assess the presence of antibiotic compounds in the microwave pre-treated HCW collected from three different waste operators in Peninsular Malaysia.…”

Molecular Identification of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Isolated from Biomedical Waste in General Hospital Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria

“…Research conducted in Ghana reported a microbial load ranging from 0.036 x 10 3 CFU/mg to 0.167 x 10 3 CFU/mg in hospital waste. Moreover, several pathogenic organisms including Escherichia coli were all isolated from the waste (Egbenyah et al, 2021). This high microbial load might be a result of the different types of waste from different sources that come into contact with the waste.…”