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Microbial burden on environmental surfaces in long-term care facilities: a quantitative analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2024

William A. Rutala Open the ORCID record for William A. Rutala [Opens in a new window] ,
Lauren M. DiBiase ,
Amy W. Powell ,
Maria F. Gergen ,
Emily E. Sickbert-Bennett ,
Hajime Kanamori  and
David J. Weber Open the ORCID record for David J. Weber [Opens in a new window]
William A. Rutala*
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Lauren M. DiBiase
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Infection Prevention, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Amy W. Powell
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Maria F. Gergen
Affiliation:
Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Emily E. Sickbert-Bennett
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Infection Prevention, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Hajime Kanamori
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases and Laboratory Medicine, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan
David J. Weber
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Infection Prevention, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
*
Corresponding author: William A. Rutala; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background:

We conducted a quantitative analysis of the microbial burden and prevalence of epidemiologically important pathogens (EIP) found on long-term care facilities (LTCF) environmental surfaces.

Methods:

Microbiological samples were collected using Rodac plates (25cm2/plate) from resident rooms and common areas in five LTCFs. EIP were defined as MRSA, VRE, C. difficile and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative rods (GNRs).

Results:

Rooms of residents with reported colonization had much greater EIP counts per Rodac (8.32 CFU, 95% CI 8.05, 8.60) than rooms of non-colonized residents (0.78 CFU, 95% CI 0.70, 0.86). Sixty-five percent of the resident rooms and 50% of the common areas were positive for at least one EIP. If a resident was labeled by the facility as colonized with an EIP, we only found that EIP in 30% of the rooms. MRSA was the most common EIP recovered, followed by C. difficile and MDR-GNR.

Discussion:

We found frequent environmental contamination with EIP in LTCFs. Colonization status of a resident was a strong predictor of higher levels of EIP being recovered from his/her room.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 45 , Issue 12 , December 2024 , pp. 1442 - 1447
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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