TY - JOUR
T1 - Microbial contamination of main contact surfaces of automated teller machines from Metropolitan Area of Porto
AU - Barbosa, Joana Inês Bastos
AU - Albano, Helena da Conceição Pereira
AU - Silva, Fabiana Ferreira
AU - Teixeira, Paula Cristina Maia
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported through project ‘Biological tools for adding and defending value in key agro-food chains (bio—n2—value)’, No. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000030, funded by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), under Programa Operacional Regional do Norte—Norte2020”. We would also like to thank the scientific collaboration under the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) project UID/Multi/50016/2019. Financial support for author J. Barbosa was provided by a post-doctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/113303/2015 (FCT). The authors express their gratitude to the editor Dr Michael Brett-Crowther for his valuable comments to improve this manuscript.
Funding Information:
This work was supported through project ?Biological tools for adding and defending value in key agro-food chains (bio?n2?value)?, No. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000030, funded by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), under Programa Operacional Regional do Norte?Norte2020?. We would also like to thank the scientific collaboration under the Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia (FCT) project UID/Multi/50016/2019. Financial support for author J. Barbosa was provided by a post-doctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/113303/2015 (FCT). The authors express their gratitude to the editor Dr Michael Brett-Crowther for his valuable comments to improve this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/3/3
Y1 - 2020/3/3
N2 - Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are likely to be contaminated with various microorganisms because of their contact with the hands of many users daily. The main objective of this study was to investigate ATMs as a potential source of bacterial contamination. This study was conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, in which 50 swab samples were cultured on selective media. Some isolates were identified based on colonial, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Susceptibility to several antibiotics was also evaluated for each isolated organism. Most contaminated ATMs had high numbers of Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococci. Staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae were the most prevalent bacteria found. The recovered bacterial isolates varied in their antibiotic resistance pattern; Staphylococcus spp. demonstrated the most resistant profiles. With this pioneering study in Portugal, it was demonstrated that although ATMs in metropolitan area of Porto were not highly contaminated, some potentially pathogenic bacteria were present and resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.
AB - Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are likely to be contaminated with various microorganisms because of their contact with the hands of many users daily. The main objective of this study was to investigate ATMs as a potential source of bacterial contamination. This study was conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, in which 50 swab samples were cultured on selective media. Some isolates were identified based on colonial, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Susceptibility to several antibiotics was also evaluated for each isolated organism. Most contaminated ATMs had high numbers of Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococci. Staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae were the most prevalent bacteria found. The recovered bacterial isolates varied in their antibiotic resistance pattern; Staphylococcus spp. demonstrated the most resistant profiles. With this pioneering study in Portugal, it was demonstrated that although ATMs in metropolitan area of Porto were not highly contaminated, some potentially pathogenic bacteria were present and resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.
KW - Antibiotic resistance
KW - ATM
KW - Microbial contamination
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074030032&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00207233.2019.1674584
DO - 10.1080/00207233.2019.1674584
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074030032
SN - 0020-7233
VL - 77
SP - 208
EP - 221
JO - International Journal of Environmental Studies
JF - International Journal of Environmental Studies
IS - 2
ER -