Investigation on American cockroaches medically important bacteria in Khorramshahr hospital, Iran

To investigate American cockroaches’ infection to various bacteria in Khorramshahr Vali-e-Asr hospital, which was done in 2008. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 20 American cockroaches were caught via direct collection. Medically important bacteria were extracted from their outer surface of bodies by standard procedures. Culturing outer surface wash of cockroaches resulted in the separation of Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Proteus and Streptococcus. The main common bacteria were Klebsiella (35%) and Pseudomonas (30%). Also, results of culture media showed that about 90% of cockroaches infected to at least one bacterium. American cockroaches can transmit pathogenic and potential pathogenic bacteria, therefore their presence in hospitals may be a sanitation challenge. It is recommended to assess plans in purpose to combat these pests in the hospitals.