Journal of Applied Life Sciences International

Effluents generated by hospital activities are often permanent threats to humans and/or their environments health with regard to the types of specific substances they may contain. The general objective of this investigation was to assess wastewater management potentials at the “Université des Montagnes” Teaching Hospital (UdMTH) and their microbiological profile. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between December 2021 and June 2022. For waste management, a survey sheet was used to collect data on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of UdMTH personnels, patients and visitors. Pieces of information recorded were supplemented with other evidences collected with an observation sheet. With regard to the microbiological quality of effluents, wastewater specimens were sampled from different sections of the discarding system, kept in refrigerated containers and conveyed to the laboratory for culture, bacteria identification, enumeration and antibiotic susceptibility tests. The laboratory works were conducted according to the standard procedures (REMIC, 2018 and CASFM, 2022). For the microbiological screening, pieces of information collected were the bacterial group and clinical categories (susceptible, susceptible at high posology, and resistant) of recovered isolates.  A total of 177 participants (55 hospital staff, 122 patients and visitors) were enrolled. Data analysis globally indicated insufficient knowledge, bad attitudes and bad practices. The key necessary management tools, such as planning, organization chart, direction and control directives, though embryonic, were present. Also, clean water was available (87.7%), but not sufficiently used because of inadequate waste discarding amenities, resulting in bacterial loads beyond the recommended standards for almost all of the specimens subjected to microbial screening. The purification performance associated with the septic tank sanitation system was, therefore, inadequate and insufficient in this context. Identified organisms mainly included coliforms (31.81%), Pseudomonas (27.27%), and Staphylococcus (25.45%). Vibrio was also isolated. Further insight through data analysis revealed that the isolates expressed high resistance rates to most antibiotics, especially to beta-lactams. The study concluded that the bacterial types mostly isolated included coliforms, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas that expressed high resistance to antibiotics, particularly to beta-lactams. The restoration of pipes and other sanitation facilities appeared as a priority for overall optimal management, alongside permanent training of all stakeholders.  Overall, human resources reskilling and the restoration of sanitation facilities remained paramount necessities for the proper management of liquid effluents.