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Microbial contamination of "in use" bar soap in dental clinics
P P Hegde1, A T Andrade, K Bhat
1Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, KLES Institute of Dental Sciences, Belgaum. pradnyahegde@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Bar soap from 18 different dental clinics were investigated for microbial contamination, while it was "in-use". Of the 32 samples obtained from the bar soap, 100% yielded positive culture. A total of 8 different genera of organisms were isolated. Each bar soap was found to harbor 2-5 different genera of micro organisms. Heavily used soap had more micro organisms compared to less used soap. The microbial load of the "in-use" bar soap constituted a mixed flora of gram positive, gram negative, aerobes, anaerobes, and fungi. The results indicate that the bar soap under "in-use" condition is a reservoir of microorganisms and handwashing with such a soap may lead to spread of infection.
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