Contamination of health care workers’ coats at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia: the nosocomial risk

BACKGROUND Health care Associated Infections (HAIs) are a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. They pose a severe impact in resource-poor settings, where the rate of infection is estimated to be relatively high. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish empirical evidence related to HAIs in Zambia. METHOD This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from October, 2013 to May 2014 at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka. A total of 107 white coats worn by health care-workers at UTH were sampled for possible bacteriological contamination. RESULTS Of the 107 white coats screened, 94 (72.8 %) were contaminated with bacteria. There was no difference in the contamination levels between white coats worn for more than 60 min (47.8 %) compared to those worn for 30-60 min (46.7 %) (p = 0.612). Further, the antibiotic sensitivity tests indicated that the bacterial isolates were resistant to some of the antibiotics assessed. Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pnumoniae exhibited the highest resistance to most of the antibiotics assessed. CONCLUSION This study has shown that white coats worn by health care-workers at the University Teaching Hospital generally have high microbial contaminations and hence pose a nosocomial risk. It is therefore, recommended that white coats be regularly sanitized, and health care workers also be sensitized on public health risk of HAIs associated with contaminated coats.