MICROBIAL ANALYSIS OF CAR INTERIORS

ABSTRACT

The car interiors are the inside parts of a car. This study evaluates the microbial communities of frequently touched car interior surfaces (private and commercial cars) within Umuahia. The predominant microorganisms isolated were Bacillus sp, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Fusarium sp. The total heterotrophic plate count ranged from 1.2×105 to 3.8×105cfu/ml. The total coliform plate count ranged from 1.1×105cfu/ml to 3.6×105cfu/ml. The total fungal plate count ranged from 1.5 × 105 to 3.2 × 105cfu/ml.. it was observed that Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequently occurring bacteria isolate from the various car interiors samples with a percentage occurrence of (42.1%), followed by Bacillus sp with a percentage occurrence of (36.8%), then, Escherichia coli with a percentage occurrence of (15.9%) whereas Klebsiella sp has the least percentage occurrence of (5.3%). In the same sequence, Aspergillus niger is the most frequently occurring fungal isolate from the various car interiors samples with a percentage occurrence of (45.5%), followed by Aspergillus flavus with a percentage occurrence of (36.4%) whereas Fusarium sp has the least percentage occurrence of (18.2%). This analysis suggests that car interiors may be important environmental reservoirs that are capable of harboring pathogenic microorganisms. This study concludes that cars act as potential source of contamination with many commensal and harmful microorganisms. These colonized microorganisms act as source of infection for the person travelling in it. So, regular cleaning practices may be a good strategy to limit colonization by potentially pathogenic microbes. Statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in mean count of the car interior surfaces at P< 0.05.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                                                 i

Certification                                                                                                                           ii

Dedication                                                                                                                              iii

Acknowledgement                                                                                                                  iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                                   v

List of Tables                                                                                                                          vii

Abstract                                                                                                                                  viii

1.0       CHAPTER ONE                                                                                                       1

1.1       Introduction                                                                                                                1

1.2       Types of Car Interiors                                                                                                 2

1.3       Aims and Objectives                                                                                                  4

2.0       CHAPTER TWO                                                                                                      6

2.1       Literature Review                                                                                                       6

2.2       Bacteriological Profile of Car Steering and Interior of Cars                                      7

2.3       Isolation of Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria from Public Service Cars Door

Handles                                                                                                                       8

2.4       Elucidation of Bacteria Found In Car Interiors and Strategies to Reduce the

Presence of Potential Pathogens                                                                                 11

2.5       Microbiome of the Car                                                                                             13

2.6       Sources of Microbes                                                                                                   14

2.7       Infectious Agents of Concern                                                                                     15

2.7.1    Legionellae                                                                                                                 16

2.8       Bacteria and Fungi Associated with Car Interiors                                                     17

2.9       Infection Control Measures                                                                                        21

2.9.1    Cleaning                                                                                                                     21

2.9.2    Disinfection                                                                                                                21

3.0       CHAPTER THREE                                                                                                  23

3.1       Materials and Method                                                                                                 23

3.2       Study Area                                                                                                                  23

3.3       Collection of Samples                                                                                                23

3.4       Sterilization of Materials                                                                                            23

3.5       Preparation of Culture Media                                                                                     24

3.6       Preparation and Inoculation of Samples                                                                     24

3.7       Purification of Isolates                                                                                               24

3.8       Identification of Bacterial Isolates                                                                             25

3.8.1    Gram Staining                                                                                                            25

3.8.2    Biochemical Test                                                                                                        25

3.8.2.1 Indole test                                                                                                                   25

3.8.2.2 Methyl red (MR)                                                                                                        26

3.8.2.3 Voges proskauer (VP)                                                                                                26

3.8.2.4 Hydrogen sulphide test (H₂S)                                                                                     26

3.8.2.5 Citrate test                                                                                                                   26

3.8.2.6 Urease test                                                                                                                  26

3.8.2.7 Catalase test                                                                                                                27

3.8.2.8 Coagulase test                                                                                                             27

3.8.2.9 Sugar fermentation test                                                                                               27

3.8.2.10 Starch test                                                                                                                 28

3.9       Identification of Fungal Isolates                                                                                 28

3.10     Statistical Analysis                                                                                                     28

4.0       CHAPTER FOUR                                                                                                    29

4.1       Results                                                                                                                        29

4.1.1    Total viable bacterial count of the various car interiors                                             29

4.1.2    Morphological Identification of bacterial isolates from the various car                   29

Interiors

4.1.3    Biochemical Identification, Gram Reaction and Sugar Utilization Profile of

Bacterial Isolates from the various car interiors                                                         29

4.1.4    Cultural Morphology and Microscopic Characteristics of the Fungal Isolates

From the various car interiors                                                                                    30

4.1.5    Percentage occurrence of the isolates from the from the various car interiors           30

4.1.6    Distribution of the isolates from the various car interiors                                          30

5.0       CHAPTER FIVE                                                                                                      37

5.1       Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendation                                                          37

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                                   37

5.2       Conclusion                                                                                                                  39

5.3       Recommendation                                                                                                       40

References                                                                                                                  41

            Appendix 1                                                                                                                 46

            Appendix 11                                                                                                               52

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER ONE

1.1       INTRODUCTION

A car (or automobile) is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transportation. The car interiors are the inside parts of a car. The cars are the major mode of transportation for majority of people in modern world. Cars have become an indispensable part of our lives and have become a daily necessity. The inside of an automobile is a confined and often shared space, and several reports in the past decade indicate that its occupants thus face a higher risk of exposure to a variety of airborne infectious agents, allergens, endotoxins, and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) alone or in various combinations with possible harm to health (Saxena et al., 2013). This is at a time when the global number of automobiles on the road is at an unprecedented level.

A combination of factors should be considered when assessing the risks from exposure to infectious agents while using domestic or public cars. The risk of exposure to a given infectious agent is directly related to the moisture content of the car, the length of the commute as well as the number of occupants in the car. The age of the occupants of such cars and their immune status may also vary widely, thus affecting the outcome of exposure to any pathogens therein.

The nature and extent of the load a car is carrying will also determine the ongoing air quality along with air movements inside it. These factors, in turn, will directly impact the operation and performance of the car's standard air-handling system as well as that of any air decontamination (“decontamination” is an umbrella term which refers to removal of airborne pollutants by filtration and/or adsorption as well as to inactivation of microbes by chemical (e.g., ozone) or physical (e.g., ultraviolet light) agents) device placed in it. Therefore, these variables must be considered in assessing how well an in-car air decontamination device would perform in concert with its existing air-handling capability under realistic field conditions.

1.2       TYPES OF CAR INTERIORS

The various types of car interiors include;

·       Car Seat

A car seat is the seat used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand prolonged use. The most common material is polyester

·       Car steering wheel

A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel or a hand wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, as well as buses, light and heavy trucks, and tractors. The steering wheel is the part of the steering system that is manipulated by the driver; the rest of the steering system responds to such driver inputs. This can be through direct mechanical contact as in recirculating ball or rack and pinion steering gears, without or with the assistance of hydraulic power steering,

·       Car Seat Belt

A seat belt (also known as a seat belt or safety belt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduces the likelihood of death or serious injury in a traffic collision by reducing the force of secondary impacts with interior strike hazards, by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness of the airbag (if equipped) and by preventing occupants being ejected from the vehicle in a crash or if the vehicle rolls over. When in motion, the driver and passengers are travelling at the same speed as the car. If the driver makes the car suddenly stop or crashes it, the driver and passengers continue at the same speed the car was going before it stopped (Saxena et al., 2013). A seatbelt applies an opposing force to the driver and passengers to prevent them from falling out or making contact with the interior of the car (especially preventing contact with, or going through, the windshield). Seatbelts are considered Primary Restraint Systems (PRS), because of their vital role in occupant safety.

·       Car Air Condition

Automobile air conditioning (also called A/C) systems use air conditioning to cool the air in a vehicle. Air conditioners often use a fan to distribute the conditioned air to an occupied space such as a building or a car to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

·       Car Door Handle

Car door handles may protrude from the vehicle's exterior surface or be streamlined into the vehicle's contour. In some automobiles, especially luxury vehicles, the door handles may feature a key-less entry pad utilizing either a numerical code or thumb scan. Studies have shown that steering wheel is actually the breeding ground for bacteria 11 times more than a public toilet. A typical steering wheel had an average of 700 kinds of bacteria compared to the 60 types found on a public toilet seat. A major source of bacteria comes from food spills in various locations (Saxena et al., 2013). Microbes can also enter the vehicle through the air and heating vents. The foot wares of passengers also play an important role in contamination (Saxena et al., 2013). Handling of contaminated money also introduces microbes causing infections (Mensah et al., 2002). Obviously, the areas touched with the hands harbour most germs. The top spots for germs are dashboards, change holders, cup holders and children’s car seats (Saxena et al., 2013). While most of the bacteria are unlikely to cause health problems, some cars harbour a number of potentially harmful bacteria species. Staphylococcus and Propionibacterium are the predominant organisms. Staphylococcus spp. are found ubiquitous in the environment (Gosa-Girma et al., 2014) and strains present in the nose often contaminate hands and fingers leading to skin carriers and hence the car surfaces could serve as reservoirs for pathogenic Staphylococci. They play an important role in human colonisation and infection. Another commonest organism isolated from cars is Bacillus cereus, which is an important source of food poisoning. Harmful bacteria like Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter all of which can cause illness are also isolated. Enteric pathogens are the most frequent cause of diarrhoea and account for an annual mortality rate of about five million people worldwide (Kosek et al., 2003).Each of these has the capability to survive for as long as one month inside the car. These colonized micro-organisms may be transmitted to patients even if patients do not come in direct contact with the colonised sites (Kilic et al., 2009). These organisms if pathogenic can pose a threat to the health of the patients especially those in intensive care units. The situation worsens if the organisms are drug-resistant because of limited treatment options (Angadi et al., 2014). Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are commonly implicated in hospital acquired infections and can be challenging to eliminate (Sadat-Ali et al., 2010). It is estimated that one third of these infections can be prevented by adhering to standard infection control guidelines. Among health care workers, it has been reported that medical devices like thermometers, stethoscopes and non-medical devices like computer, key boards (Borer et al., 2005), ball point pens, files, books and mobile phone (Sepehri et al., 2009) have an important role in the transmission and spread of microorganisms. Till now, no studies have been done to know the colonisation of interior of cars of health care personnel and their role in transmission of infection. Therefore, the present study was done to determine the possible role of cars as a reservoir of bacterial pathogens.

1.3       AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to determine the microorganisms in the interior of cars within Umuahia

They objectives include;

1.     To isolate and characterize microorganisms present in different car interiors

2.     To determine the percentage occurrence of the isolates

3.     To determine the effect of disinfectants on car interiors

4.     To compare the microbial load of public and private vehicles

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