Microbiological analysis of environmental samples collected from child care facilities in North and South Carolina

• Surface and care providers' hands from 40 child care facilities in North and South Carolina were subjected to microbiological analysis.
• Overall, hands had higher microbial loads than surfaces.
• Biotype I Escherichia coli was absent; pathogens Salmonella enterica, E coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni, and Shigella spp were also absent.
• Four samples showed evidence of human norovirus contamination.
• Results suggest that these facilities practiced good hygiene and sanitation.

BackgroundChildren cared for outside the home are at an increased risk of enteric disease. Microbiological analyses were performed on environmental samples collected from child care facilities in North and South Carolina.MethodsThere were 326 samples collected from 40 facilities corresponding to common surfaces (77% of samples) and the hands of care providers (23% of samples). Samples were analyzed for total aerobic plate counts (APCs), total coliforms, biotype I Escherichia coli, and pathogens Shigella spp, Salmonella enterica, E coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni, and human norovirus.ResultsMedian APCs and coliform counts for hands were 4.6 and 1.0 log10 colony-forming units (CFU) per hand, respectively. Median APCs for surfaces were 2.0 and 2.6 log10 CFU for flat and irregular surfaces, respectively. Coliforms were detected in 16% of samples, with counts ranging from 1.0 log10 to >4.3 log10 CFU, with higher counts most often observed for hand rinse samples. Biotype I E coli counts were below assay detection limits (<1 log10 CFU) for all but 1 sample. No samples were positive for any of the 4 bacterial pathogens, whereas 4 samples showed evidence of human norovirus RNA.ConclusionThe relative absence of pathogens and biotype I E coli in environmental samples suggests the child care facilities sampled in this study managed fecal contamination well.