Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL
Volume 42, Issue 1, Pages 82-83Publisher
MOSBY-ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2013.06.015
Keywords
Fomites; Contamination; Disinfection
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Stethoscopes can take part in the transmission of health care-associated infections. We cultured 112 stethoscopes by direct imprint on blood agar to estimate the prevalence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Forty-eight (47%) produced 50 potentially pathogenic microorganisms; from these, 43 (86%) were Staphylococcus aureus, of which 18 (42%) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus. We concluded that stethoscopes should be considered as potential fomites and must be disinfected routinely before and after each patient contact. Copyright (C) 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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