Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a hospital in the city of Luz, Minas Gerais, Brazil - DOI: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.v32i1.5805

Abstract

Urban ants, when present in hospital environments, can be a potential danger to public health, because they can carry pathogenic organisms and are possibly directly associated with the hospital cross infection problem. During a one-year period, collections were carried out, using non-toxic baits in a hospital of Luz, Minas Gerais State. The samples were distributed in 16 sites, being three outside and the others inside the hospital. Ants were found in 15 of the 16 sampled points. The most abundant genera were Brachymyrmex e Tapinoma, recorded inside and outside the hospital. The Camponotus genus was present as well, and generally collected where food was available (such as kitchen, rooms, refectory and garbage packing places) and structural failings on walls. Wasmannia, Pheidole, Linepithema, Monomorium, Dorymyrmex, Solenopsis and Paratrechina were also collected, totaling ten genera. Our results indicate a possible implication of the precarious condition in the hospital structure and the importance of cleaning in these environments.