Microbes and Infectious Diseases 2023; 4(3): 919-927 Microbes and Infectious Diseases Journal homepage: https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/ DOI: 10.21608/MID.2023.192543.1494 * Corresponding author: Adut Chan Malual E-mail address: adut80@yahoo.com © 2020 The author (s). Published by Zagazig University. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Original article 2- Medright Consulting LTD Introduction Nosocomial infections are a major cause of severe morbidity and mortality in hospitalized newborn infants [1,2]. They adversely affect preterm or term infants in intensive care units. Approximately 70% of hospital-acquired infections manifest as bacteremia and neonatal sepsis [2,3]. Almost a third of neonates in the newborn unit (NBU) at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) get neonatal sepsis [4]. Meningitis and pneumonia also commonly occur among neonates [5], independently affecting about one in every 10 neonates [3]. Nearly 50% of under-five deaths globally occur among neonates [6]. The neonatal mortality rate in developing countries is almost seven times Silent threats on surfaces and equipment in the newborn unit of Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya Adut Chan Malual *1 , Anne Maina 1 , Dennis Kithinji 2 , Winnie Mutai 1 1- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 28 March 2023 Received in revised form 17 April 2023 Accepted 5 May 2023 Keywords: Newborn Contamination Nosocomial Antimicrobial Resistance A B S T R A C T Background: Contaminated hospital surfaces and equipment can serve as reservoirs for potentially pathogenic bacteria. They can contribute to persistent and silent transmission of infections. This study aimed to investigate the bacterial contamination and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated from surfaces and equipment in the newborn unit (NBU) of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study by sampling surfaces and equipment at NBU of KNH. A total of 580 swabs were collected from cots, incubators, radiant warmers, weighing scales, suction machines, oxygen masks, desk surfaces, door handles, keyboards, PC mouse, sinks, and taps. Culture of the swabs and isolation, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates were performed using standard microbiological methods. Results: Growth was observed in 273 (54%) of the 580 swabs. Coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS) were the most common contaminants, 137/273 (50.2%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (119/273, 43.6%), Escherichia coli (16/273, 5.9%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa ) (1/273, 0.4%) were also isolated. The highest proportion of contaminants were found in cots (55/273, 20%), radiant warmers (51/273, 19%), oxygen masks (46/273, 17%), and desk surfaces (29/273, 11%). Antimicrobial resistance to penicillin, clindamycin, and vancomycin was observed in several isolates. Conclusion: Significant proportions of antibiotic-resistant contaminants were isolated from the NBU’s surfaces and equipment. The hospital should implement strict infection control measures and regularize monitoring and surveillance of hospital surfaces and equipment for potential antibiotic-resistant pathogens to prevent their persistence and silent transmission.