title: Contamination of room door handles by methicillin-sensitive/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: We investigated the contamination of room door handles by Staphylococcus aureus in wards of a university hospital. Door handles in 53 (27.0%) of 196 rooms were contaminated by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and/or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); MSSA was detected on door handles of 41 rooms (20.9%), MRSA on door handles of 17 rooms (8.7%), and MSSA and MRSA on the same door handles of five rooms (2.6%). The density of MSSA contamination was 1-2.6x10(4) colony forming units (cfu)/door handle, and that of MRSA was 1-6.0x10(3) cfu/door handle. The MRSA contamination rate on door handles of rooms with patients with MRSA was 19.0% (4/21 rooms) while that on door handles of rooms with patients without MRSA was 7.4% (13/175); the difference was not significant. These results suggest extensive contamination of MSSA and MRSA in the hospital environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube 755-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oie
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamiya
mesh_terms: D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006785:Hospitals, University; D007564:Japan; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D008712:Methicillin