The Impact of Environmental Contamination and Carriage of Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococci by Patients on the Hand Hygiene of Healthcare Workers

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) pose a great health threat to hospital-associated infections. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are known as sources, vectors and victims for MRS. AIM: This study aimed to identify non-hand hygiene factors associated with the higher prevalence of MRS colonisation among ICU HCWs compared to those in non-ICU settings. STUDY DESIGN: Samples were collected from HCWs, patients and environment sites of a community hospital in Tianjin. 16s rRNA sequencing was used to identify the species of bacteria, and the disc diffusion method was used to explore the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of staphylococci. The mecA gene and SCCmec types were determined by PCR. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty staphylococcal isolates were recovered and 186 isolates were identified as MRS. The prevalence of MRS carriage among HCWs, patients, and environmental dissemination in the ICU was significantly elevated compared to that in the non-ICU setting (p