High rates of MRSA transmission found between nursing home residents, healthcare workers
Healthcare workers frequently contaminate their gloves and gowns during every day care of nursing homes residents with drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, according to a new study. The findings were published online today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
“One in four nursing home residents harbor MRSA in some settings. We know that healthcare workers serve as a vector for MRSA transmission from one resident to another in settings such as nursing homes,” said Mary-Claire Roghmann, M.D., lead author of the study. “The use of barrier precautions, such as gowns and gloves, limit this transmission, but guidance on when to use them is limited. The goal of our research was to determine the most important times to wear gowns and gloves in nursing homes by measuring the risk of MRSA contamination during different types of care.”
