Researchers at University of Leeds have come out with a new study which reveals that hospital bugs contaminate surfaces far away from patients' beds by floating around on air currents.
The researchers said that simply cleaning surfaces around patients' beds is not enough as the infection may spread by sneezing, coughing or shaking the bed clothes. A specially controlled study by the researchers found the presence of bugs as far as 3.5 meters away from a patient's bed.
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"The level of contamination immediately around the patient's bed was high but you would expect that. Hospitals keep beds clean and disinfect the tables and surfaces next to beds. However, we also captured significant quantities of bacteria right across the room, up to 3.5 meters away and especially along the route of the airflows in the room", lead researcher Dr Cath Noakes said.
Source: Medindia
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