Isolation and Identification of Bacteria on Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Makurdi Metropolis

Abstract

The automated teller machine (ATM) has been an important device in the banking sector and other financial institutions. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify Bacteria on the keypads of selected Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Makurdi metropolis. Swab sticks soaked with sterile normal saline were used to collect specimens from the keypads of the ATMs. The swab sticks were immediately transferred to the laboratory of Microbiology in the Department of Biological Science, Benue State University Makurdi. The collected samples were pooled into different tubes containing sterile normal saline and was agitated for 5minutes. This was further inoculated using the spread plate technique. The keypads of fifty (50) ATMs from five different locations in Makurdi were examined for bacterial contamination. The bacteria isolated from this study were, Staphylococcus aureus with a prevalence of (41.6%), Escherichia coli (34.4%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (24.0%) on the keypads of the ATMs. There was a statistically significant relationship between the bacterial isolates and the respective locations ( X 2 =72.96; df=8; p=0.000). This result gives the impression that ATMs could be a potential “pathogen city”. Therefore, adequate personal hygiene and regular routine cleaning of these machines bythe bank’s authorities is recommended.