Ocorrência de bactérias patogênicas resistentes em um parquinho público infantil

Abstract

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a critical threat to global public health, extending beyond hospitals to urban leisure environments. Public children's playgrounds are high-circulation areas where children are exposed to contaminated surfaces, potentiated by poor hygiene habits and an immature immune system. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of pathogenic bacteria isolated from a public children's playground in the municipality of Santa Helena, Paraná. For this purpose, surface samples were collected using sterile swabs at the children's playground in Santos Dumont Square during a period of high visitor flow. Bacterial isolation was performed by cultivation and seeding on selective and differential media for Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus spp., and Enterococcus spp. The isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Subsequently, the antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined by antibiogram assays using the disk-diffusion method, according to BrCAST guidelines. The bacterial isolates corresponded to S. aureus, S. ureilyticus, E. mundtii, E. hirae, Cronobacter sp., A. hermannii, and L. adecarboxylata. All S. aureus isolates were resistant to a macrolide (azithromycin), one isolate was resistant to an aminoglycoside, and a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain was detected. All A. hermannii isolates were resistant to nitrofurans. Regarding Cronobacter, one isolate was resistant to two antimicrobial classes, carbapenems and monobactams, while another showed resistance to cephalosporins. This study was the first to report emerging pathogens and resistant isolates in a children's playground in the western region of Paraná. With these data, it is expected to contribute to a better understanding of pathogen circulation in public spaces, especially those frequented by children, as well as to provide new data for local biological risk management. It is concluded that microbiological surveillance of these spaces is fundamental to support community strategies for infection prevention and awareness of child and adolescent hygiene.