Elsheikh et al Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2023; 13(3):47-50 ISSN: 2250-1177 [47] CODEN (USA): JDDTAO Available online on 15.03.2023 at http://jddtonline.info Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics Open Access to Pharmaceutical and Medical Research Copyright © 2023 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited Open Access Full Text Article Research Article Detection of Fungal Contamination of Ward Furnishing and Medical Equipment Used in intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Eslam Gadalla Elsheikh * 1 , Mohammed Abdulelah Abuzied 2 , Nadar B. Moalim 3 , Abdelhakam H. Ali 4 1. Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, National University, Sudan. 2. Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al-Neelain University, Sudan. 3. Program of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Hayatt University College, Sudan. 4. Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Al-Butana, Sudan. Article Info: __________________________________________ Article History: Received 12 Jan 2023 Reviewed 10 Feb 2023 Accepted 17 Feb 2023 Published 15 March 2023 __________________________________________ Cite this article as: Elsheikh EG, Abuzied MA, Moalim NB, Ali AH, Detection of Fungal Contamination of Ward Furnishing and Medical Equipment Used in intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2023; 13(3):47-50 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v13i3.5958 __________________________________________ *Address for Correspondence: Eslam Gadalla Elsheikh, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, National University, Sudan Abstract ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Background: Nosocomial infections acquired during hospitalization depend on the characteristics of the microorganisms, with a high risk of being acquired when the contaminated environment. Cross- transmission of microorganisms by contaminated surfaces and the hands of health care workers are considered to be the main route of the spread of nosocomial infections. Aim of study: This study aim to detect the fungal contamination of ward furnishings and medical equipment used in the intensive care unit and Neonatal intensive care unit. Materials and Methods: Fifty environmental swabs were collected from ward furnishings and medical equipment including predefined surfaces (armrest beds, wash sinks, medical tables), between August and September 2021.Swab specimens were immediately inoculated onto plates that contained Sabouraud Dextrose Agar. After that samples were incubated for a 1 to 7 days period at 28°C and checked every day for growth. Results: Out of fifty swabs samples, 21(42%) yielded Fungal growth. From these isolated organisms Penicillum species was the predominant isolate 10 (47.6%) followed byAspergillus flavus.Penicillum species was the commonest fungal isolates among ICU, while Aspergillus flavus were the predominant isolates among Neonatal ICU. The most contaminant Equipment was found in Neonatal ICU samples 5(55.6%), and the most contaminant Place in ICU was the floors 3(25%). Conclusion: This study showed that ICU of the hospital may contain fungi indicating that may form potential source of cross-infection through health care workers to their patients. Keywords: Fungi, Neonatal, ICU, and Infection. INTRODUCTION: Fungi are a large and diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. There are approximately 100,000 species of fungi, about 200 of which are pathogens. 1 The two groups of fungi that have practical importance in the Hospitals are molds and yeasts. Generally, fungi can be differentiated easily into these two types based on the macroscopic appearance of their colonies. 1 Fungi are common in the air and on surfaces, particularly where moisture is present. Although fungi are not normally found in Hospitals in high numbers, the walls surrounding Hospitals can contain fungi and fungi will present challenges to air handling systems. Breaches to these areas can lead to the ingress of fungi. This is important since in any built environment there are very few natural indoor fungi; most fungi found indoors originate from the outside environment and their presence inside is due to some mechanism of transfer. 2 Hence as the outdoor species pool varies, so will the indoor airborne fungal communities. Room condition of the clean room has a bearing on the possibility of a vector (like air or water) breaching the clean room and with the ability of a facility to respond to an incident with an effective cleaning and disinfection program (since damaged surfaces are more difficult to clean and disinfectant). The probability of this comes down to how well a particular facility if maintained, although the success of maintaining a facility become more difficult with ageing facilities (an indefinable time, although, in the pharmaceutical context a facility over twenty-five years old might reasonably be defined as ageing). 6,7 Further with the room, as well as water there is an associated with fungi and temperature, high indoor humidity together with limited ventilation. 8 Here higher ventilation rates reduce the prevalence of fungi, together with consideration given to the hygrothermal performance of building assemblies. Poorly maintained machinery can also be a source of fungi and repairing damage should form part of a facility’s mycoremediation strategy. An example is with worn or damaged filters, which can blow air around a facility. A second area is following maintenance activity, such as the opening of panels on machines. The inner areas of equipment, especially those not typically intended to be exposed to the cleanroom environment, can be a source of contamination.