New study on staph...and possibly where it is the most contagious...BD
The presence of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in patients' stools increases the likelihood that it will make its way onto skin, hospital bed rails and other surfaces, according to research published in the online open access journal, BMC Infectious Diseases.
To determine whether these bacteria would be transferred to the researchers' hands they bravely touched each of the skin and environmental sites with one hand previously disinfected with an alcohol hand rub. Handprints in agar jelly before and after testing were used to determine the presence of bacterial transfer. Most of the patients colonized with S. aureus had the MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) strain, which is unaffected by treatment with certain antibiotics.