Microbial Carriage of Cockroaches at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Cockroaches are common in the environment of many hospitals in Ghana; however, little is known about their public health risks. To evaluate potential risks, we investigated the external and internal microbial flora of 61 cockroaches from a tertiary hospital in Ghana and evaluated the antibiotic resistance profiles of the common bacterial species. Standard methods were used in all the microbiological investigations and antibiotic susceptibility testing. A rotavirus carriage rate of 19.7% was observed among the cockroaches. Four types of intestinal parasites were carried externally by the cockroaches, and the most prevalent was Hookworm (4.9%). Eight nosocomial bacteria were isolated from the cockroaches, and the most prevalent was Klebsiella pneumoniae, which occurred internally in 29.5% of the cockroaches and 26.2% externally. Multiple drug resistance among common bacteria isolated from the cockroaches ranged from 13.8% (Escherichia coli) to 41.1% (Klebsiella pneumoniae). Cockroaches constitute an important reservoir for pathogenic microorganisms, and may be important vectors of multiple resistant nosocomial pathogens in the studied hospital.

Insects Represent a Link between Food Animal Farms and the Urban Environment for Antibiotic Resistance Traits

“…Antibiotic-resistant enterococci were also isolated from stored-product beetles collected from a feed mill, a grain storage silo, and a retail store (37). A few other studies showed that Mexican fruit flies (Anastrepha ludens L.) from laboratory-reared colonies (38), oil fly (Helaeomyia petrolei L.) larvae from asphalt seeps (39), and cockroaches (Periplaneta americana L. and Blattella germanica L.) from food-handling facilities, households, and a hospital (40,41) are carriers of antibiotic resistance traits.…”

Blattella germánica (Blattodea: Blattellidae) como potencial vector mecánico de infecciones asociadas a la atención en salud (IAAS) en un centro hospitalario de Villavicencio (Meta-Colombia)

“…Tilahun y colaboradores encontraron quince especies de bacterias en una unidad neonatal en Addis Ababa, las cuales presentaron resistencia múltiple a los doce antibióticos probados (14). En Ghana se realizó un estudio en un hospital de tercer nivel, en donde se hallaron ocho tipos de bacterias, las cuales presentaron diferentes niveles de resistencia a antimicrobianos (13). Estos hallazgos indican que las cucarachas podrían ser un vector mecánico potencial de bacterias resistentes asociadas con IAAS (14,19), con lo cual se deben extremar medidas para su control efectivo dentro de las instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud.…”

Microbiological Quality of a Locally Brewed Alcoholic Beverage (Pito) Sold in a Community within the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

“…Unhygienic way of serving this local alcoholic beverage, coupled with poor storage, makes the pito drink attract flies that pitch on it and sometimes even fall into it. Therefore, another possible route of transmission could be by insects such as house flies, fruit flies [39] and cockroaches [40] that may reside in and around the brew house.…”