Microbial Contamination of Tools and Equipment Used in Educational Laboratories of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2018

Laboratories, due to their large workforce, diverse sample types, and contamination by various pathogenic agents, are considered high-risk environments for the transmission and spread of numerous diseases. This study aimed to investigate bacterial and fungal contamination of laboratory equipment in the educational laboratories at Kashan University of Medical Sciences.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2018 at Kashan University of Medical Sciences. A single consistent sampler performed a random sampling of 155 devices. After data collection, the frequency of microbial and fungal contamination was calculated for each laboratory and each piece of equipment. Frequency tables were constructed based on the type of bacteria or fungi and the colonies grown.

Among the 155 samples collected and cultured from laboratory equipment across various faculties, the highest percentage of contamination (83.22%) was observed with the Bacillus species (129 cases), followed by Pseudomonas species (17 cases, 10.96%) and Escherichia coli (17 cases, 10.96%). Only 7 samples were free of contamination, indicating widespread contamination across most equipment.

The results indicate that the majority of educational laboratory equipment at Kashan University of agents Medical Sciences is contaminated with both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as fungal.