Microbiological Profile of Food Served and Related Surfaces in a Libyan General Hospital, Libya

Document Type : Regular issue (Original Article)

Authors

1 Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sabha University, Brack, Libya

2 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

COMBATING foodborne pathogens in hospitals is a growing concern. A major aspect is a safe nutrition for patients in hospitals. It is still a hot topic concerning patients, media, and politicians. In Libya, it is a rising trend to inspect food and surfaces' safety aspects to assure hospital hygiene regulations. In this study, a survey of the general microbiological quality of food and surfaces in a General Teaching Hospital was undertaken in Alshatii, Libya. Fifty food and forty surface samples were cultured on different kinds of selective culture media. Significant colonies were counted and identified via microscopic and biochemical examinations. This study reported satisfactory levels of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp. and Listeria spp. when compared with guidelines for the published microbiological quality of ready-to-eat food. No detectable levels of Salmonella spp. were recorded in our study. We identified 9 out of 40 surface samples with unsatisfactory levels. Listeria spp. were isolated from eight surface samples that indicate improper hygiene compared with data on the general microbiological quality of surfaces. Food samples from the General Hospital in Libya was of relatively accepted microbiological quality but surface hygiene needs an improved strategy to prevent cross-contamination that causes public health problems. This inspection acts as a hygiene alert to improve the management of hospital cleaning and it will have a positive impact on the public health of Libyan society.

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