Therapy Dogs & cell phones carry MRSA

[Guest guest]

Canadian researchers studied 26 therapy dogs who visited patients in hospitals

or long-term care facilities. Before and after each visit, a dog's forepaws and

the hands of its handler were tested for three bacteria that commonly cause

hospital infections - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),

vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Clostridium difficile. To detect whether a

dog was carrying germs on its fur, the researcher also sanitized her hands,

petted the dog and had her hands tested for the pathogens.

More at the link below. No pets in nursing homes???????

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/therapy-dogs-and-hospital-infections/?e\

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The cellular phones that hospital doctors and nurses bring to work are widely

contaminated with dangerous pathogens, even when the health workers wash their

hands regularly, a new study has found. " Our results suggest cross-contamination

of bacteria between the hands of health care workers and their mobile phones, "

wrote the researchers from Turkey's Ondokuz Mayis University in the ls of

Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials.

" These mobile phones could act as a reservoir of infection which may facilitate

patient-to-patient transmission of bacteria in a hospital setting. " Researchers

tested the dominant hands and mobile phones of 200 doctors and nurses in

hospital intensive care units and operating rooms for bacteria capable of

causing illness. While most of the health care workers followed hand washing

guidelines, 95 percent of their phones tested positive for at least one

dangerous form of bacteria. Almost 35 percent of phones contained two bacterial

strains, while more than 11 percent contained three or more.

A full 12.5 percent of phones tested positive for methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

http://www.naturalnews.com/026264.html

FYI,

Lottie