Fakoorziba M R, Eghbal F, Hassanzadeh J, Moemenbellah-Fard M D
Department of Medical Entomology, Research Centre for Health Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2010 Sep;104(6):521-8. doi: 10.1179/136485910X12786389891326.
Although it has been difficult to prove the direct involvement of cockroaches (i.e. insects of the order Blattaria) in the transmission of pathogenic agents to humans, such insects often carry microorganisms that are important in nosocomial infections, and their medical importance in the spread of bacteria cannot be ruled out. In houses and institutions with poor standards of hygiene, heavy infestations with cockroaches, such as the peridomestic American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) and the domestic German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.), can occur. In the present study, cockroaches (126 B. germanica and 69 P. americana) were collected from four buildings (three public training hospitals and one house) in central Tehran, Iran. Each insect was processed, under sterile conditions, so that the bacteria on its external surfaces and in its alimentary tract and faecal pellets could be isolated and identified. The oldest and largest of the three hospitals sampled (a 1400-bed unit built 80 years ago) appeared to be the one most heavily infested with cockroaches, and cockroaches from this hospital accounted for most (65.4%) of the isolates of medically important bacteria made during the study. No significant difference was found between the percentages of P. americana and B. germanica carrying medically important bacteria (96.8% v. 93.6%; P>0.05). At least 25 different species of medically important bacteria were isolated and identified, and at least 22 were Gramnegative. The genus of enteric bacteria most frequently isolated from both cockroach species, at all four collection sites, was Klebsiella. The cockroaches from each hospital were much more likely to be found contaminated with medically important bacteria than those from the house. The hospital cockroaches were also more likely to be carrying medically important bacteria internally than externally (84.3% v. 64.1%; P<0.05). The implications of these and other recent results, for the control of cockroaches and nosocomial infections, are discussed.
尽管很难证明蟑螂（即蜚蠊目昆虫）直接将病原体传播给人类，但这类昆虫常常携带对医院感染很重要的微生物，因此不能排除它们在细菌传播方面的医学重要性。在卫生标准较差的房屋和机构中，可能会出现蟑螂大量滋生的情况，比如在住宅周边的美洲大蠊（Periplaneta americana L.）和居家的德国小蠊（Blattella germanica L.）。在本研究中，从伊朗德黑兰市中心的四栋建筑（三家公共培训医院和一栋住宅）收集了蟑螂（126只德国小蠊和69只美洲大蠊）。每只昆虫都在无菌条件下进行处理，以便分离和鉴定其外表面、消化道和粪便颗粒上的细菌。采样的三家医院中最古老且规模最大的一家（80年前建成的拥有1400张床位的医院）似乎蟑螂滋生最为严重，该医院的蟑螂在研究期间分离出的具有医学重要性的细菌菌株中占比最大（65.4%）。携带具有医学重要性细菌的美洲大蠊和德国小蠊的比例之间未发现显著差异（96.8%对93.6%；P>0.05）。至少分离并鉴定出了25种具有医学重要性的不同细菌物种，其中至少22种为革兰氏阴性菌。在所有四个采集地点，从两种蟑螂物种中最常分离出的肠道细菌属是克雷伯菌属。与来自住宅的蟑螂相比，每家医院的蟑螂被具有医学重要性的细菌污染的可能性要大得多。医院的蟑螂体内携带具有医学重要性细菌的可能性也比体外更大（84.3%对64.1%；P<0.05）。本文讨论了这些以及其他近期研究结果对蟑螂控制和医院感染的影响。
