EC Microbiology

Background: Bacteria thrive on and within the human body, with previous works revealing vast diversity in several human-associated bacterial communities. One of the largest human-associated microbial habitats is the skin where bacterial density may be as high as 10⁷ cells per square centimetre. This study sought to enumerate the bacterial load on the palms of market women in Madina at different times of the day.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was carried out on market women with palm swabs collected aseptically from 30 participants who consented to the study. The samples were transported on ice immediately after collection to perform total heterotrophic counts and hygienic quality testing.

Results: The total quality mean counts for samples taken in the morning (8.09 x 10⁶) was significantly higher than afternoon samples (2.9 x 10⁶) (P = 0.025) However, the hygienic quality of samples obtained in the morning (mean count of 5.9 x 10³) was lower than samples obtained in the afternoon (mean count of 6.9 x 10³). The difference observed was statistically insignificant (p = 0.065).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the bacterial load on the palms of the market women was high, particularly on the palms of the educated women and among those who presumed they practiced good hand hygiene.

Keywords: Bacterial Load; Palm Swabs; Total Quality Mean Counts; Hygienic Quality; Food Borne Diseases

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