BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL DIVERSITY OF TOOTHBRUSHES USED FOR TWO MONTHS

ABSTRACT Used Toothbrushes serve as reservoirs for microorganisms and may play a major role in disease transmission in humans. Toothbrush has been characterized as a means of microbial transport, retention and growth and highly contaminated brushes may cause a possible constant re-infection which is a risk factor for periodontal disease. The aim of the experiment was to determine the microbial composition of toothbrushes used for two months. 15 used manual toothbrushes obtained from some students of University of Port Harcourt Nigeria were analyzed bacteriologically using standard microbiological techniques. The result showed that all the toothbrushes were contaminated with bacteria. The bacterial isolates from the toothbrushes were Klebsiella spp, Lactic Acid Bacillus, Bacillus spp, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus spp and Staphylococcus spp were bacteria isolated while Aspergillus spp, and Penicillium spp were fungi isolated. Bacillus spp had the highest prevalence with percentage occurrence of 30%, followed by Escherichia coli with percentage occurrence of 25%, followed by Staphylococcus spp with percentage occurrence of 15%. Klebsiella spp and Lactic Acid Bacillus had a percentage occurrence of 10% each while Pseudomonas spp and Streptococcus spp had the least percentage occurrence of 5%. For fungi, Candida spp had the highest prevalence with percentage occurrence of 15% followed by Aspergillus spp which had a percentage occurrence of 15% while penicillium spp had the least prevalence with percentage occurrence of 10%. of the samples respectively. In view of the fact that these organisms are pathogenic and could be a potential health hazard, adequate rinsing, air-drying and storage of the toothbrushes in a well dried enclosed case will minimize the incidence of these bacteria and the health risk associated with them.