Isolation and Identification of Microorganisms Associated with Automated Teller Machines in Calabar Metropolis

Abstract

The metallic keyboards of automated teller machines situated within Calabar metropolis were investigated for microbial contamination due to their vast dermal contact by multiple users. Swab sticks soaked with normal sterile saline were used to collect specimens from the keypads. Isolation was done on nutrient agar and eosine methylene blue (EMB) for bacteria and Sabouraud dextrose agar for fungi using standard microbiological procedures. Identification of microorganisms was done using colonial, microscopic and biochemical characteristics. The results reveal that these machines that serve as cash dispensing device can be a potential disease dispensing machines as samples analyzed revealed bacterial isolates such as Staphylococcus spp (32%)), Bacillus spp (24%), Escherichia spp (20%), Pseudomonas spp (18%) and Salmonella spp (6%) while fungal isolates of the samples analyzed include microorganisms such as Rhizopus spp (56%), Aspergillus spp, (25%) and Penicillium spp (19%). These findings necessitate the need for adequate personal hygiene by users and frequent routine cleaning of these machines by the bank’s authorities is highly recommended.