Background: Contaminated environmental surfaces may play an important role in transmission of some healthcare-associated pathogens. In this study, we assessed the adequacy of cleaning practices in rooms of patients with Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization or infection and examined whether an intervention would result in improved decontamination of surfaces.

In a study of 40 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriers, hand contamination was equally likely after contact with commonly examined skin sites and commonly touched environmental surfaces in patient rooms (40% vs 45%). These findings suggest that contaminated surfaces may be an important source of MRSA transmission.

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In a prospective study involving 115 patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nares carriage, we found that skin and environmental contamination with methicillin-resistant S. aureus was as likely among individuals whose S. aureus carriage was identified only through active surveillance as it was among those individuals whose S. aureus carriage was identified clinically, which suggests that strategies to limit transmission must address colonized patients, as well as infected patients.