New research from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville charts bacteria's path from the healthcare facility sink to the patient, according to an article on the Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality website.
"Our study demonstrates that bacterial spread from drainpipes to patients occurs via a staged mode of transmission," Amy Mathers, MD, the study's lead investigator and an associate professor of medicine and pathology, said in the article.
Bacteria colonize in drainpipe elbows and can grow up the pipes at a rate of about an inch a day. That means bacteria can reach the sink bowl in about a week.
They are eventually splashed in and around the sink.
Design Standards as Strategic Assets
Rising Violence is Exposing Gaps in Hospital Security
Murray County Medical Center Reports Data Security Incident
Probiotic Cleaning: A Complementary Strategy for Safer Hospital Floors
VITAS Healthcare Breaks Ground on New Inpatient Hospice Center in Florida