Bacteriological Assessment of Waste Water in a Tertiary Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Hospital wastewater often contains pathogenic microorganisms and chemical contaminants that may pose risks to public health and the environment if discharged without adequate treatment. The bacteriological assessment of wastewater from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in Port Harcourt was carried out. A total of 96 wastewater samples were collected from six hospital units: kitchen, surgery, theatre, paediatrics, laboratory, and laundry over a four-month period. Standard microbiological methods including serial dilution, culture on nutrient and MacConkey agar, morphological and biochemical identification were used for bacterial isolation. The results showed that Escherichia coli had the highest occurrence with 21 isolates (21.9%), followed by Staphylococcus spp. (18.8%) and Micrococcus spp. (14.6%). Pseudomonas spp. and Klebsiella spp. accounted for 13.5% and 12.5% respectively, while Proteus spp. (10.4%) and Bacillus spp. (8.3%) had lower prevalence. The distribution of isolates varied across hospital units, with the laboratory recording the highest prevalence of E. coli (43.8%), while Staphylococcus spp. was most prevalent in the kitchen and surgery units (25.0% each). Pseudomonas spp. showed highest occurrence in the surgery unit (25.0%), whereas Klebsiella spp. was more common in the theatre and laundry units (25.0% each), and Proteus spp. was predominantly found in the theatre and laundry sections. The findings highlight significant microbial contamination of hospital wastewater and emphasize the need for effective wastewater treatment and monitoring to prevent environmental pollution and the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.