New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections

Date:
October 1, 2009
Source:
BioMed Central
Summary:
Although hospital computer equipment can act as a reservoir for pathogenic organisms, including MRSA, researchers found that bacterial contamination rates from computer equipment were low, possibly as the result of good hand hygiene.
Share:
FULL STORY

Although hospital computer equipment can act as a reservoir for pathogenic organisms, including MRSA, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases found that bacterial contamination rates from computer equipment were low, possibly as the result of good hand hygiene.

Yen-hsu Chen, from Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, led a team of researchers who studied IT equipment in a 1600-bed medical center in southern Taiwan with 47 wards and 282 computers. He said: "Most hospital computer devices are not waterproof, or otherwise designed for disinfection needs. Clinically, A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa, and MRSA cause the most common nosocomial infections, and their presence correlates with environmental surface contamination. We screened 282 computer stations, looking for these bacteria and other, less dangerous, species."

The results revealed a 17.4% (49/282) contamination rate of S. aureus, Acinetobacter spp. or Pseudomonas spp. The contamination rates of MRSA and A. baumannii in the ward computers were 1.1% and 4.3%, respectively. No P. aeruginosa was found. According to Chen, "No clinical correlation of contamination of these computer devices to clinical isolates was found. Routine disinfection and even surveillance of these computer devices may not be mandatory in non-outbreak settings."


Story Source:

Materials provided by BioMed Central. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Po-Liang Lu, L. k Siu, Tun-Chieh Chen, Ling Ma, Wen-Gin Chiang, Yen-Hsu Chen, Sheng-Fung Lin and Tyen-Po Chen. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii on computer interface surfaces of hospital wards and association with clinical isolates. BMC Infectious Diseases, 2009; (in press) [abstract]

Cite This Page:

BioMed Central. "Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 October 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930194254.htm>.
BioMed Central. (2009, October 1). Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930194254.htm
BioMed Central. "Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930194254.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES