A recent study examined the bacterial contamination of common objects frequently touched by patients, visitors and healthcare workers in a hospital in Nepal, according to an article on the Becker's Clinical Leadership and Infection Control.
Research published in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control collected 232 samples from various sites, including the surface of biometric attendance devices, elevator buttons, door handles and staircase railings and phones.
The most common contamination for the following objects are:
Elevator buttons
• S. aureus: 22.9 percent
Biometric attendance devices
• S. aureus: 33.3 percent
Door handles
• S. aureus: 16.2 percent
Telephone sets
• Micrococcus species: 36.6 percent
Railing
• Diphtheroids: 20 percent
Water taps
• Diphtheroids: 23.3 percent