Non-biting flying insects as carriers of pathogenic bacteria in a Brazilian hospital

Introduction Insects have been described as mechanical vectors of nosocomial infections. Methods Non-biting flying insects were collected inside a pediatric ward and neonatal-intensive care unit (ICU) of a Brazilian tertiary hospital. Results Most (86.4%) of them were found to carry one or more...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Main Authors: Henrique Borges Kappel, Adriana Gonçalves Oliveira, Paulo Roberto da Silva, Afonso Pelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013-04-01
Subjects:
Microorganisms
Insecta
Public Health
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822013000200234
Description
Summary:Introduction Insects have been described as mechanical vectors of nosocomial infections. Methods Non-biting flying insects were collected inside a pediatric ward and neonatal-intensive care unit (ICU) of a Brazilian tertiary hospital. Results Most (86.4%) of them were found to carry one or more species of bacteria on their external surfaces. The bacteria isolated were Gram-positive bacilli (68.2%) or cocci (40.9%), and Gram-negative bacilli (18.2%). Conclusions Insects collected inside a hospital were carrying pathogenic bacteria; therefore, one must consider the possibility they may act as mechanical vectors of infections, in especially for debilitated or immune-compromised patients in the hospital environments where the insects were collected.
ISSN:0037-8682
1678-9849

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