Killer superbugs ‘are spread through hospitals by NURSES’
Over a quarter of all contamination cases were caused by bacteria infested uniforms
KILLER superbugs carried on nurses’ scrubs are being spread around intensive care wards, reveals a new study.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, are a serious health threat - so it’s important to keep cards uncontaminated to prevent them from circulating further.
Tragically, 300 Brits died from MRSA infections in 2012, and some of these cases may have occurred because of the bugs being transported on nurses uniforms.
Research reveals that although infected patients are responsible for nearly half of all contamination, over a quarter of instances were caused by nursing and medical staff.
The final quarter of cases were triggered by bacteria on hospital equipment.
Items that were most rife with the bugs were the sleeves and pockets of scrubs, followed by bed railings.
Even when the rooms were cleaned on a daily basis, the deadly bacteria was still present on the hospital wards.
To combat the spread of antibiotic resistant bugs, Duke University Medical Centre scientists suggest cleaning rooms after patients are discharged, rather than when they’re still present.
Commenting on the study, Dr Deverick Anderson said: "We know there are bad germs in hospitals but we're just beginning to understand how they are spread,
"This study shows we need to be 100 per cent diligent about infection control strategies."
He added that the research should be “a good wake-up call that health care personnel need to concentrate on the idea that the health care environment can be contaminated.”
Advice given to hospital workers
- In order to stop superbugs from spreading around wards, Dr Anderson urges nursing staff to wash their hands after seeing to each patient.
- He also advises that they wear disposable gloves and gowns when treating infected patients.
- The findings show that wards aren't cleaned meticulously enough when they're occupied, so Dr Anderson is pushing for closer attention during these times
Dr Anderson also advised: "Any type of patient care, or even just entry into a room where care is provided, truly should be considered a chance for interacting with organisms that can cause disease."
Although some wards are cleaned daily, experts believe they need to be more meticulously taken care of when beds are occupied.
Dr Anderson also believes that hospital staff aren’t taking enough precautions when treating patients.
He explained: "I think sometimes there's the misconception that if, for instance, a nurse is just talking to patients and not actually touching them, that it might be okay to skip protocols that help reduce pathogen transmission, like washing hands or wearing gloves.
"The study's results demonstrate the need for caution whenever health care providers enter a patient room, regardless of the task they're completing."
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According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) affect one in 25 hospitalised patients on any given day.
Worryingly, half of these cases occur in the intensive care unit.
The study included 167 patients who received care from 40 nurses during three separate 12-hour ICU shifts, for a total of 120 individual shifts.
Each nurse was responsible for two or more patients per shift and change into new scrubs for each shift.
The samples taken twice a day from the nurses' scrubs, patients and their rooms showed 22 or 18 per cent, transmissions of the same strain of bacteria.
Of these transmissions six to 27 per cent were from patient to nurse, six to 27 per cent were from the room to the nurse, and 10 to 45 per cent were from patient to the room.