title: Antibiogram of bacteria isolated from automated teller machines in Hamadan, West Iran.
abstract: Aim:Bacteria are ubiquitous in the environment. In keeping with the continued expansion of urbanization and the growing population, an increasing number of people use automated banking, i.e. automated teller machines (ATMs). The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial contamination and its antibiotic sensitivity on computer keyboards located at ATMs in Hamadan province, Iran.Method:Out of 360 ATMs at four locations in Hamadan, 96 were randomly selected for this study. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of all isolates was determined by the agar disk diffusion method using gentamicin (10 µg), vancomycin (30 µg), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (25 µg), amikacin (30 µg), tobramycin (10 µg), cephalotin (30 µg), norfloxacin (5 µg), and ceftizoxim (30 µg) disks.Results:Melli and Saderat Banks had the most frequently contaminated ATMS, with 18 (27.7%) and 12 (18.5%), respectively. The most frequently isolated bacteria wereStaphylococcus epidermidisin 12 (18.5%) ATMs,Pseudomonas aeruginosain 12 (18.5%),Bacillus subtilisin 11 (16.9%),Escherichia coliin 6 (9.2%),Klebsiellaspp. in 8 (12.3%),Enterobacterspp. in 2 (3.1%),Bacillus cereusin 6 (9.2%),Staphylococcus aureusin 3 (4.6%), andMicrococcaceaespp. in 5 (7.69%) cases. All isolated bacteria were susceptible to gentamicin, cephalotin, tobramycin, amikacin, norfloxacin, and vancomycin. TheS. aureusresistance rate to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was 50%.Conclusion:All tested ATM keyboards were contaminated with at least one species of bacteria. Based on these findings, it is recommendable to disinfect the hands after entering one's own apartment, work area or a hospital, in order to hinder the spread of critical pathogens in the personal environment or in the hospital.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Arabestani
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; Brucellosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Yousef
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Alikhani
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Departments, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Iraj
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sedighi
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamed Farhadi
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Kohan
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molavi
keywords: antibiotic pattern; automated teller machines; bacteria; keyboard