Abstract

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) IN MICHAEL OKPARA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, UMUDIKE (MOUAU) AND ITS ENVIRONS

Mbajiuka, Chinedu Stanley*

Abstract

automated Teller Machine (ATM) has been an important device in the banking sector and other financial institutions. The keyboards and screens of these devices (ATMs) that were situated in the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) and its environs were examined in order to find out their microbial load potential, in order to find out whether they were contaminated with pathogenic or non-pathogenic microorganisms. Swab sticks soaked with normal sterile saline were used to collect specimens from these devices, especially those surfaces that people normally touch their hands during transactions – keypads and screens. The Swab sticks were inoculated using the streak technique methods. The results reveal that these machines that serve as cash dispensing device can be a potential disease dispensing machines as bacterial isolates of the number of samples analysied revealed microorganisms such as Staphylococcus spp is about 82.5% (33), Bacillus spp 62.5% (25), Escherichia spp, 22.5% (9) Streptococcus spp 15% (6) were found on the keyboards while fungal isolates of the samples analyzed includes microbes such as Rhizopus spp with about 47.5% (19), Aspergillus spp, 22.5% (9) and Penicillin spp, 20% (8) were found on the keypads. These results give the impression that ATMs could be a potential â€Å¾pathogen city‟. Therefore, adequate personal hygiene and regular routine cleaning of these machines by the bank‟s authorities is recommended.

Keywords: ATMS, KEYBOARDS, SCREENS, BANKS, MICROORGANISMS, STREAKING, PERSONAL HYGIENE.