Hospital infections can survive on clothing, may affect how they are spread
Patient Safety Monitor Alert, September 24, 2008
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New studies point to medical personnel's clothing as a means of spreading hospital infections, reports The New York Times. Although much of recent infection control efforts have been focused around handwashing and the sterilization of hospital equipment, some new research is pointing to staff clothing as another way that infections can be spread throughout hospitals. More research needs to be done on the topic; some studies say that although many germs can be found on doctors' clothing, infections are not usually spread from them.
However, a few studies show MRSA specifically can live for long periods of time on certain types of clothing, the article says. One study shows that MRSA wound up on medical staff members' clothing 70% of the time they entered a room with a patient who was colonized with the infection, even if he or she did not touch the patient. Additionally, some European countries have banned long sleeves in an effort to prevent the spread of infections.
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