THE INHIBITORY POTENTIAL OF SELECTED DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS ON BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES IN BAZE UNIVERSITY, ABUJA, NIGERIA

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1 Background to the study

Information and Communication (ICT) has made an incredible impact on the quality of life, economic growth, and development in the world. It is indisputable that ICT has the potential to continue driving growth for the foreseeable future. It was in the light of this that Anwana (2010) stated that electronic banking is an offshoot of ICT and it provides the classic and current means of banking. Electronic banking (e-banking) has brought a high-tech transformation into the banking industry. E-banking systems evolved technologies such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), points of sales terminals (POS), Electronic funds Transfer, and telebanking (Okoro et al., 2018).

Customers of financial institutions use Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to perform financial transactions such as fund transfers, account information management, and retrieval, cash withdrawals, and deposits at their leisure, without direct interactions or contact with bank officials. ATM requirements have grown in tandem with their expanding responsibilities in financial operations. They are utilized for more than only cash supply; they also provide services for other monetary operations such as money transfer, stock market transactions, and bill payments. The usage of ATMs has created an opportunity for increased human skin contact with microorganisms, which can be a cause of infections and a risk to human health (Simone et al., 2019).

Microorganisms can be found everywhere and are important elements of every ecosystem. They are either free-living, pathogenic, or parasitic in these settings (Odebisi et al., 2013). In other situations, they exist as transitory pollutants in fomites or on human hands, or natural in the natural human biome, which is normally harmless until they make it into the body, where they pose a significant health risk as sources of community and hospitalacquired diseases.

Microorganisms frequently contaminate ambient items and surfaces. Some studies have documented the existence of live harmful germs on inanimate items which is one of the major reasons why daily procedures like cleaning, sanitizing or disinfecting those said areas are necessary. Even if cleaning surfaces are conducted regularly, eventually depending on the time and specific geographical area, the microorganism can still be found on the surface. ATMs are no exceptions to this circumstance, when in fact there are numerous ways that microorganisms can be deposited on their surface for instance; their exteriors can be contaminated by the users’ exhalation, sneezing (nasal droplets), sweaty palms, water, or mucus from the mouth and nose, areal microbial contaminates like fungal spores that rely on wind locomotion for deposition and other responses that leave the keyboards infected, that also includes other inanimate objects. Because of this, there is a risk that even pathogenic (Disease-causing) microorganisms can use the ATMs as a vector for disease transmission. This research work highlights the different categories of Bacteria that can be found on the surface of the Automated Teller Machines and study the inhibitory effects of the disinfectants and antiseptics have on the organism.

1.2 Statement of Research Problem

Human beings have a strong proclivity to take up microorganisms from ambient items, and their hands have been demonstrated to play a major role in organism propagation. Because of the extensive contact with many customers, the ATM is prone to be infected with various organisms. There are no restrictions on who gets access to the facility, and there are no guidelines to assure sanitary usage. However, like with other surfaces, microbial colonization of these steel keypads is inevitable, especially because most of these institutions lack adequate cleaning routines. ATMs may not only be cash dispensers but they also act as vectors for disease distribution due to the population of harmful microorganisms that may be present as a huge number of people examine them regularly without consideration for sound environmental quality. Users frequently stop at ATMs without realizing that the keypad they touch includes a mixture of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, or viruses that can be transmitted between people. Apart from the health hazard, adverse environmental conditions may influence the quality of service and the degree of operation of the equipment. ATMs as previously stated represent a good transient environment for the development of pathogenic microbes especially Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and fecal coliform genera’s which include Enterobacter spp. and Klebsiella spp.

 

1.3 Justification for the study

To reduce the risk concerning the spread of pathogenic microorganisms daily, surface antiseptics or disinfectants have played a critical role in the significant inhibition, reduction, or total elimination of the microbes. Human beings are exposed to either several of the same or different microorganisms voluntarily or involuntarily, either by natural causes like dust accumulation, spore deposition through wind locomotion, or any other factors that can assist in microbial multiplication, which is one of the major reasons why natural everyday cleaning occurs.

Several kinds of research have been conducted on the use of Automated Teller Machines, giving a good description of the microorganism that can be found on the keypads and the effects of antibiotics on the isolated germs. However, it is also imperative to analyse the efficacy of antiseptics and disinfectants on the organism, giving full details on how effective the solution’s chemical constituents are on different concentrations, elaborating a good reminder of why surface cleaning is very important in the daily lives of human beings. The ATMs within the university campus have not been examined yet, which raises the question “What kind of organisms can be found on their surfaces and if they are infectious to human life”. It is most important to conduct a microbial survey because there is a major risk that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) which is currently causing a global pandemic that was initially reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, can be found on the ATMs and other inanimate surfaces.

There has been little research study that has focused on the effectiveness disinfectants against genera of bacteria that can be found on the ATMs, most likely because there have only been studies that focused on effectiveness of antibiotics. There have also been research studies conducted on the use of ATMs, some areas of Nigeria, however, there has not been any survey in any area of Abuja.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the study

The study aims to carry out a Bacteriological examination of the Automated Teller Machines found within the campus of Baze University Abuja, with a view of making recommendations on how best the campus can reduce the risk of the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms.

The specific objectives of this study are:-

• To isolate and identify the bacteria present from each swab sample obtained from the ATM surfaces
• To conduct susceptibility analysis using some selected disinfectants and antiseptics on the bacteria, elaborating the effectiveness of lower concentrations of the chemical compounds are against the specific organism.

 

THE INHIBITORY POTENTIAL OF SELECTED DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS ON BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES IN BAZE UNIVERSITY, ABUJA, NIGERIA

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