Evaluation of surface contamination with staphylococci in a veterinary hospital using a quantitative microbiological method.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate microbial contamination of the environment in a veterinary hospital using standards recommended for human hospitals and to provide a baseline against which further investigations can be compared.


METHODS
Surfaces were sampled twice daily for five consecutive days using a contact-based counting method to measure the levels of staphylococci in colony forming units (cfu) per cm².


RESULTS
Current recommendations for human hospitals were applied in this study; all samples with <2.5 cfu/cm² staphylococci were considered to have passed and those with ≥2.5 cfu/cm² to have failed. Of all the samples, 55.9% failed. The ICU did not have significantly higher failure rates than other areas of the hospital. The floor as a surface was associated with greater than a threefold increase in odds of elevated cfu concentrations relative to the door handle.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides information on the microbiological cleanliness of a veterinary teaching hospital using techniques and standards adopted by the food industry and recommended for human hospitals. This data can be used as a baseline for other hospitals, to evaluate the effectiveness in improvements in hygiene and cleaning measures and to design effective hospital cleaning protocols and assess ongoing hygiene standards.
Aksoy
E
E
Royal Veterinary College, The Queen Mother Hospital, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA.
Boag
A
A
Brodbelt
D
D
Grierson
J
J
D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D006762:Hospitals, Animal / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification*