title: Evidence that contaminated surfaces contribute to the transmission of hospital pathogens and an overview of strategies to address contaminated surfaces in hospital settings.
abstract: Evidence that contaminated surfaces contribute to the transmission of hospital pathogens comes from studies modeling transmission routes, microbiologic studies, observational epidemiologic studies, intervention studies, and outbreak reports. This review presents evidence that contaminated surfaces contribute to transmission and discusses the various strategies currently available to address environmental contamination in hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Infection and Diagnostics Research, Department of Infectious Diseases, King's College London & Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. jonathan.otter@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Otter
authors.forename: Saber
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yezli
authors.forename: James A G
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Salkeld
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: French
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006797:Housekeeping, Hospital / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D009873:Operating Rooms; D010362:Patients' Rooms