Sanitary Condition of Public Appliances in Public Places in Southern Jiangsu in 2011-2012

Objectives  To understand the sanitary condition of public appliances in public places in Southern Jiangsu, and provide scientific basis for hygienic supervision and management.

Methods Various public appliances collected from different public places in 2011-2012 were tested for microbiological indicators, and the results were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software for health quality monitoring.

Results The total qualified rate of public appliances was 76.1% (798/1 058), and the qualified rates between 2011 and 2012 were statistically different(χ² =9.31, P < 0.05). The qualified rates of public cleaning appliances in hairdressing and beauty industries, public bathrooms and hotels were 83.4%, 85.0% and 63.6%, respectively, (χ²=60.71, P < 0.05). The qualified rate of general bacterial counts for sanitary cleaning appliances in hotels was the lowest (14.9%), while that in hairdressing and beauty industries were 73.0% and 88.1% respectively. The qualified rate for fungi on slippers was 83.8% (χ²=227.19, P < 0.05).

Conclusions The overall hygienic situation of public appliances in public places in Southern Jiangsu was not well. The hygienic condition of public appliances in hotels, towel and slippers in hairdressing and beauty industries and public bathrooms was still serious. It is necessary to strengthen supervision and management and improve the hygienic quality in public places.