Isolation of medically important fungi from cockroaches trapped at hospitals of Sari, Iran

This study was done to evaluate the presence of medical important fungi on the external surface of cockroaches collected from the public and residential areas of three hospitals of Sari, Iran. A total of 38 cockroaches were caught from staff resting rooms / working areas, the ward floors and patient rooms, during two consecutive days at three hospitals between December and November, 2013. The frequency of Blattellagermanica and Periplaneta Americana among 38 trapped cockroaches were 84.2 and 15.8 percent, respectively. Candida spp. was the most yeast isolated (94.7%) on external surfaces of cockroaches and Rhodotrula spp. (57.9%) was the following. Also, Aspergillus spp. (84.2%), Fusarium spp. (15.8%), Penicillium spp. (10.6%) and Geotrichum spp. (10.6%) were the most molds appeared on external surfaces of cockroaches. Among 36 (94.7%) cockroaches, 4 species of Candida were identified by mycological examinations. C. glabrata (52.8%) and C. albicans (38.8%) were the highest species isolated from cockroaches. A. niger (50%) was the most species that was isolated from cockroaches. In conclusion, cockroaches are vectors of microbial agents such as fungi, yeast, etc than can cause nosocomial infection. Thus, public centers such as hospitals should have definite plan to combat with these pest insects.