| Summary: | The present study was undertaken to determine the bacterial agents present in
various clinical solid wastes, general waste and clinical sharp waste. The waste was
collected from different wards/units in a healthcare facility in Penang Island, Malaysia.
The presence of bacterial agents in clinical and general waste was determined using the
conventional bacteria identification methods. Several pathogenic bacteria including
opportunistic bacterial agent such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus,
Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pyogenes were detected
in clinical solid wastes. The presence of specific pathogenic bacterial strains in clinical
sharp waste was determined using 16s rDNA analysis. In this study, several nosocomial
pathogenic bacteria strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis,
Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Serratia marcescens, and Staphylococcus aureus were detected
in clinical sharp waste. The present study suggests that waste generated from healthcare facilities should be sterilized at the point of generation in order to eliminate nosocomial
infections from the general waste or either of the clinical wastes.
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