DOI: 10.11648/j.ijpc.20261201.12 ISSN: 2575-5749

Isolation, Phenotypic Characterization, and Distribution of Normal Bacterial Flora from the Hand Skin of Healthy Female Students at Wolkite University, Ethiopia

Debebe Lata, Abera Kenea, Tesfaye Giza, Eyasu Milkias, Kaleb Kamayla, Dawit Regasa
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The cutaneous microbiota serves as a critical first line of defense through bacterial interference, but can transition into opportunistic pathogens if introduced into deep tissues via mechanical trauma. This study aimed to isolate, phenotypically characterize, and assess the distribution profile of normal hand skin bacterial flora among healthy female students at Wolkite University, Ethiopia. A laboratory-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2024 to June 2025 at the Department of Biotechnology Laboratory. Hand skin swab samples were collected from 60 healthy female students using simple random sampling. Isolated colonies were purified and classified to the genus level based on macroscopic morphology, Gram reaction, cellular shapes, and standard biochemical verification arrays. A total of 27 distinct bacterial isolates were recovered from the 60 samples. Phenotypic and biochemical profiling identified seven distinct bacterial groups. The family Enterobacteriaceae was the most prevalent group (10 isolates, 37.07%), followed by Staphylococci (6 isolates, 22.22%) and Lactobacilli (4 isolates, 14.81%). The findings demonstrate that while female hand skin maintains protective resident commensals ( Staphylococci and Lactobacilli ), it frequently harbors transient enteric and environmental bacteria ( Enterobacteriaceae ) due to continuous exposure to shared institutional touch points. This underscores the critical importance of implementing consistent personal hygiene, systematic hand-sanitation protocols, and enhanced public health awareness within the university campus ecosystem to minimize hand-borne opportunistic infections.

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