Isolation, Characterization and Plasmid Profiling of Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Automated Teller Machines (ATM devices) in Enugu State, Nigeria

Background: Due to high frequency of use, many kinds of microbes may contaminate the ATM device resulting in the emergence and spread of infectious agents especially multi-antibiotic resistant (MAR) bacteria.

Aim: This study was conducted to isolate and phenotypically characterize bacteria isolates from ATM devices in Enugu State, Nigeria.

Study Design: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study involving 30 different ATM devices.

Place and Duration: The research was conducted in Enugu State from January 2024 to August 2024.

Methodology: The isolation, phenotypic characterization and plasmid profiling of the test bacteria were carried out using standard methods.

Results: A total of one hundred and twelve (112) bacteria were isolated and they include Klebsiella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp, Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp (CoNS). In the study, CoNS had the highest isolation rate of 20.5 % and Serratia marcescens had the lowest isolation rate of 1.8 %. A total of 20 plasmids with molecular weight ranging from 2322 – 23130 bp were detected from the bacteria tested. The MAR index of the isolates fell within 0.2 to 0.8 indicating a high risk source of contamination where antibiotics misuse exist by the users in this study area.

Conclusion: Therefore, it is high time people started adopting the culture of washing and sanitizing hands before and after using the ATM devices as hand transmission is a major source of MAR infectious agents that can contaminate ATM surfaces.