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Contamination of Examination Gloves in patient Rooms and Implications for Transmission of Antimicrobial-Resistant Microorganisms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Maureen H. Diaz*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Christina Silkaitis
Affiliation:
Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Michael Malczynski
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Clinical Microbiology Division, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Gary A. Noskin
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
John R. Warren
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Teresa Zembower
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
*
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University, 303 E. Chicago Ave., Searle 6-490, Chicago, IL 60611 (m-abbott@northwestern.edu)

Abstract

An assessment of bacterial contamination on examination gloves indicated that contaminated gloves may be a mechanism of indirect bacterial transmission from the hands of healthcare workers to patients. This mechanism is indicated by the recovery of identical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from gloves and from the clinical cultures of a patient with invasive infection.

Type
Concise Communications
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2008

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