Microorganisms Associated With Foot Wear of Undergraduate in C.o.o.u

This study investigated the prevalence and transmission of microorganisms on footwear, with a focus on identifying the types of microorganisms present and their potential impact on human health. The research samples were collected from undergraduate foot wear in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University ( COOU) and transported to the Department of Microbiology laboratory where footwear samples collected were analyzed using microbiological techniques.A sterile swab stick was use to swab the samples and streak on the plate, and was incubated at 370C for 24hrs. Those that gave significant growth were identified by gram stain, motility and biochemical tests. The bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus species while the fungi isolated from the samples were Microsporum ferugineum, Aspergillosis nidulans, Conidiobolus coronatus, Penicillium species, and Trichophyton rubum. They were identified based on their colonial morphology. Table 2 shows the percentage occurrences of the bacterial isolates from the samples which include; Escherichia coli 3(30%), Klebsiella spp 1 (10%), Bacillus spp 1 (10%), Staphylococcus aureus 3 (30%), Streptococcus spp 2 (20%). From the result Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (30%) had the highest percentage occurance. The least percentage occurrence of (10%) was observed for Klebsiella spp and Bacillus spp, while Streptococcus spp had percentage occurrence of (20%). While Table 4 showed that in the result it was seen that Aspergillosis nidulans had the highest percentage occurrence of 30%, while the one with the least occurrence of 10% was observed for Trichophyton rubum. Microsporum ferugineum, Penicillium species, Conidiobolus coronatus all had a percentage occurance of 20%. Based on the findings of this study, shoes especially covered shoes should be air dried and disinfectant wipes can also be used to avoid infections from these organisms.