PREET, GAGANDEEP KAUR AND TARUNPREET KAUR
Abstract
The study was conducted locally to quantify and identify the microbial load in hand dryers installed in restrooms of eateries and malls. All the local malls and eateries were surveyed and petri plates containing nutrient and selective media were exposed to the air blown by the hand dryers installed in these places. Plates were incubated at 37 oC for 48 hours and colonies were counted. Air of the restrooms before switching on the dryers was used as control. It has been observed that most of the hand dryers are heavily contaminated with bacterial and fungal populations. Based on the colony characteristics, cultural characteristics and microscopic observations, most of the organisms have been identified to be potential intestinal pathogens.