An assessment of the bacteriological profile and the cross contamination of the air from the hand dryers in a Tertiary Care Hospital

The efficiency of hand drying is important in preventing pathogen spread, but knowledge regarding drying methods is limited. The proper drying of hands should be an integral part of the hand hygiene process in health care for controlling the infection spread. Hence, this study is undertaken to detect the bacteriological profile of the air from the hand dryers, thereby aiming to help investigate the cross contamination in addition to the hand drying action of the hand dryers. Objectives of the study: 1) To study the bacteriological profile of the air from the hand dryers. 2) To study the bacteriological cross-contamination of the hand dryers. Setting and Design: The study is a prospective study and was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Victoria hospital. Various hand dryers in Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute, Super Speciality Hospital (PMSSY), Bangalore was included under this study. Materials and Methods: 45 hand-dryers in BMC&RI, SSH(PMSSY) were used to assess the bacterial contamination. The bacterial isolates were identified using standard microbiological procedures. Results: Of 45 hand dryers studied, our study yielded 11 isolates of Gram positive bacilli, 4 isolates of Micrococcus species, 2 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, and 1 Klebsiella pneumoniae. The 31(68.88%) hand dryers yieldedno bacterial isolates. Conclusion: In the hospital areas like wards and OPDs, it is difficult to maintain asepsis and hence, care should be taken to frequently maintain the hand dryers. The above study gives us an opportunity to look into such aspects and help in creating a sterile and safe hospital environment.