solation and Identification of Bacteria in Mosque Carpets: A Cross-Sectional Study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AlSaif F, Somily A, Alhammad G, Almousa A, Albasseet A, Almutawa A, Albatili A, Albatly L, Alsuhaibani R, Alajlan Z, Otayf M

Journal Article

2019

Published in: Isolation and Identification of Bacteria in Mosque Carpets: A Cross-Sectional S…

M, AlSaif F, Somily A, Alhammad G, Almousa A, Albasseet A, Almutawa A, Albatili A, Albatly L, Alsuhaibani R, Alajlan Z, Otayf . 2019

Isolation and Identification of Bacteria in Mosque Carpets: A Cross-Sectional Study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Fahad Alsaif1, Ali Somily2, Ghadah Alhammad3,

Abdullah Almousa3, Abdulrahman Albasseet3, 

Afnan Almutawa3, Amjad Albatli3, 

Latifah Albatly3, Raya Alsuhaibani3, 

Ziyad Alajlan3, Mojahed Otayf3

1Department of Dermatology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital and King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

3College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Correspondence to

Ghadah Alhammad, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

E-mail: [e-mail]

Received: Jan 16, 2019

Accepted: Feb 10, 2019

Muslims tend to spend a lot of time inside mosques, special indoor environments for human gatherings, open to all age groups during prayer times, particularly elderly people who have a high prevalence of chronic diseases and associated risks.1,2 Many studies have so far shown a significant association between the area per occupant and the concentration of bacteria, which may increase the risk of infections in such enclosed spaces.3 However, limited information is available on the type of the isolated pathogenic bacteria from carpets of mosques globally.4 We conducted this study to investigate the types of the bacterial contamination, if any, in prayer carpets in mosques in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. We also attempted to compare the contamination levels between male and female prayer halls. 

Using a cross-sectional design, 100 mosques representing most areas of Riyadh, were studied. Using a cluster random sampling, mosques where all the five daily prayers are performed and which have an ablution area were selected from the five regions of Riyadh—middle, northern, southern, eastern, and western areas. Twenty mosques were selected randomly from each of the five regions. Samples were obtained from selected areas of carpets in the main entrance and the first row, as these areas have the highest load of worshipers in both men and women praying sections by a trained research assistant in August and September 2017, using sterile cotton swabs. The swabs were moistened with sterile gel (Medical Disposable Manufacturing Co., Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and transported immediately in Stuart transport medium to the microbiology lab. Separate cotton swabs and transport media were used for each area. Samples were inoculated on three media—blood agar for 24–48 hrs, MacConkey agar for 24–48 hrs, and Sabouraud dextrose agar (Saudi Prepared Media Laboratory Co. Ltd., Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for 24–72 hrs. Any growth on blood agar was only identified by Gram stain, catalase, and coagulase. Catalase-positive coagulase-negative Gram-positive cocci were considered “coagulase-negative staphylococci.” Catalase-positive coagulase-negative Gram-positive tetrads were identified by morphology: yellow colonies on blood agar were considered “micrococci.” Catalase-positive coagulase-positive Gram-positive cocci were further processed by the MicroScan system (Abdulla Fouad Holding Co., serial number 3967402, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for full identification and sensitivity; they were reported either as S. aureus or methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Furthermore, catalase-positive coagulase-negative Gram-positive bacilli were reported as Bacillus spp. However, if a Gram-positive bacteria grew on both blood agar and MacConkey agar, the bacteria were further processed by MicroScan for full identification and sensitivity and considered either E. coli or Pseudomonas. 

No significant difference in the frequency or type of the isolated bacteria was found between men and women praying halls (p=0.103), and also between the main entrance and the first row (p=0.803). Of all the samples taken, 94% were positive for different bacterial organisms; 56.9% of the samples were Gram-positive cocci; 53.6% were Gram-positive bacilli. Gram-negative bacilli accounted for 31.7% of the samples. No bacterial growth was found in 5.6% of the samples taken. The most frequently isolated organisms were coagulase-negative staphylococci (59.4%), Bacillus spp. (56.9%), and Micrococcus 42.7% (Fig 1). Other potentially pathogenic bacteria like Shigella (0.3%), MRSA (0.3%), and Yersinia enterocolitica (0.3%) were isolated from the eastern, southern, and western parts of Riyadh, respectively. E. coli (0.7%) and Klebsiella (1.0%) were cultured from the central region of Riyadh.

• Publication Work Type: Paper
• Magazine \ Newspaper: Int J Occup Environ Med. 2019 Apr;10(2):94-96