Qualitative study of the environmental fungal flora present in wards at risk of nosocomial infections at the Hospital de la Paix in Ziguinchor (Senegal)

Introduction: In the hospital environment, the control of ambient air quality in hospital wards is of primary importance. Airborne fungi are a real danger for immunocompromised patients.
Objective: This work is part of a pedagogical framework which consisted in teaching the Committee for the Fight against Nosocomial Infections (CLIN) at the PAIX hospital in Ziguinchor a simple technique to detect the presence of fungi that may be involved in the occurrence of nosocomial fungal infections in wards housing immunocompromised patients.
Materials and methods: Between April and May 2021, sixty samples were collected in wards with a risk of fungal infection: the operating room, neonatal, general surgery, medicine, intensive care, and gynecology. The samples were taken in one go using the sedimentation method.
Results:The percentage of positive cultures was 100 percent. The species isolated were: Cladosporium spp, Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp, Fusarium spp, Bipolaris spp, Alternaria spp, Candida spp, Rhodotorula spp, Rhizopus spp, Trichosporon spp, Aspergillus section Fumigati, Aspergillus section Flavi, Aspergillus section Negri and Aspergillus spp, and C. albicans. All these fungi were potentially pathogenic.
Conclusion:This study demonstrates that fungal species likely to cause nosocomial fungal infections are present in wards housing patients at risk of fungal infection, and that surveillance of fungal infections should be included in the CLIN program.