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MRSA detected on commonly shared household surfaces
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Recent data show MRSA was found on commonly handled household surfaces in homes of children with MRSA, likely contributing to transmission and recurrent infection.
Stephanie A. Fritz, MD, MSCI, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues obtained samples from 21 environmental surfaces in homes of 50 children with active or recent community-associated MRSA. Surfaces were in living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms. The median age of the study participants was 3 years. The study was conducted between January 2012 and February 2013.
The number of household members ranged from two to seven, with a median of four household members. Fifty-four percent of participants had pet dogs or cats living in their home. The median number of pets per household was two.
Forty-two percent of participants had Staphylococcus aureus on at least one anatomic area, 28% had MRSA alone, 12% had methicillin-susceptible S. aureus alone, and 2% had MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureusat different anatomic area.
S. aureus was detected on at least one environmental surface in 64% of households. MRSA alone was detected in 16% of households, methicillin-susceptible S. aureusalone was found in 18%, and MRSA or methicillin-susceptible S. aureuswas foundon different surfaces in 30% of homes.
MRSA was most frequently found on participants’ bed linens (18%), television remote (16%), and bathroom hand towel (15%).
Six of 23 dogs tested had S. aureus, of which three had MRSA. One of 14 cats tested positive for S. aureus.
Children with S. aureus had a higher mean proportion of surfaces contaminated with S. aureus than children who did not have S. aureus(0.24 vs. 0.07).
Rented homes had a greater amount of contaminated surfaces than owned homes, with a mean difference of 0.14. Researchers found that the higher the number of individuals per 1,000 square foot, the greater the proportion of surfaces contaminated with S. aureus.
There was no association between S. aureus contamination and frequency of cleaning environmental surfaces in the home. Further, using hot water when washing bed linens weekly or washing bath towels after every use was not associated with detection of S. aureus on these surfaces.
“Data such as ours can inform prevention strategies within the household. For example, the recommended laundering in hot water of bath towels after each use and avoiding use of bar soap may not be effective, given the low frequency with which we recovered MRSA isolates from these sources. Additional studies to specify the dynamics of longitudinal MRSA household transmission and to specify effective household decontamination strategies are needed to interrupt the spread of MRSA,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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