Microbiological analysis of environmental samples collected from child care facilities in North and South Carolina

• Published in: American journal of infection control Vol. 42; no. 10; pp. 1049 - 1055
• Main Authors: Li, You, PhD, Fraser, Angela, PhD, Chen, Xi, MS, Cates, Sheryl, BA, Wohlgenant, Kelly, BA, Jaykus, Lee-Ann, PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.10.2014; Elsevier; Mosby-Year Book, Inc
• Subjects: Bacteria - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Child care; Child Day Care Centers; Child, Preschool; Childcare facilities; Children & youth; Day care; E coli; Enteric pathogens; Environmental Microbiology; Environmental sampling; Epidemiology. Vaccinations; Female; General aspects; Hand - microbiology; Hand - virology; Humans; Infant; Infection Control; Infection Control - methods; Infectious Disease; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Microbiological indicators; Norovirus - isolation & purification; North Carolina; Ribonucleic acid; Risk assessment; RNA; South Carolina; North Carolina; United States; North America; South Carolina; America; Microbiological indicators; Environmental sampling; Day care; Childcare facilities; Enteric pathogens; Human; Samplings; Check; Indicator; Prevention; Infection; Sampling; Child
• ISSN: 0196-6553; 1527-3296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.06.030

Background Children cared for outside the home are at an increased risk of enteric disease. Microbiological analyses were performed on environmental samples collected from child care facilities in North and South Carolina. Methods There were 326 samples collected from 40 facilities corresponding to common surfaces (77% of samples) and the hands of care providers (23% of samples). Samples were analyzed for total aerobic plate counts (APCs), total coliforms, biotype I Escherichia coli , and pathogens Shigella spp, Salmonella enterica , E coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni , and human norovirus. Results Median APCs and coliform counts for hands were 4.6 and 1.0 log10  colony-forming units (CFU) per hand, respectively. Median APCs for surfaces were 2.0 and 2.6 log10  CFU for flat and irregular surfaces, respectively. Coliforms were detected in 16% of samples, with counts ranging from 1.0 log10 to >4.3 log10  CFU, with higher counts most often observed for hand rinse samples. Biotype I E coli counts were below assay detection limits (<1 log10  CFU) for all but 1 sample. No samples were positive for any of the 4 bacterial pathogens, whereas 4 samples showed evidence of human norovirus RNA. Conclusion The relative absence of pathogens and biotype I E coli in environmental samples suggests the child care facilities sampled in this study managed fecal contamination well.