A survey of public restrooms microbial contamination in Tehran city, capital of Iran, during 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Daily use of public restrooms may have a significant impact on spreading infectious diseases. Human society could be affected by spreading of transitional infectious diseases through feces, urinary tract infection and poor personal hygiene. According to the World Health Organization reports, plenty of people's developed diseases caused by contaminated public restrooms that may result in severe health problems. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 7,482 samples that were collected randomly in 6 months (spring and summer 2019) in different regions of Tehran. The Data were obtained by analyzing 804 restroom's indoor and outdoor handles, 1062 toilet faucet, 826 washbasin taps, 1,062 toilet hoses, 804 flush tank levers, 643 soap dispenser bottoms, 643 liquid soaps, 99 bar soaps, 169 toilet papers and paper towels, and 50 hand dryer machines. Samples which were tested, based on bacteriology standard methods. Result: 7,482 samples were gathered of which 6,678 contaminated cases (89.25%) were observed and 804 cases (10.75%) were found non-contaminated. Escherichia coli with 28.48% and Pseudomonas with 0.39% were the most and the least common bacteria, respectively, in this study. Conclusion: The required tests to identify the bacteria that cause contamination through the use of public restrooms have been done. It is essential to inform the public of the mentioned items and teach how to prevent infectious diseases.

Keywords

• bacterial contamination
• hand dryer soaps
• public restrooms