Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

7 INFECTION CONTROL Hospital floors, employees' shoes may be 'underappreciated source' of MRSA spread: study By Erica Carbajal H ospital floors and shoes could be an overlooked source for dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other healthcare-associated pathogens, according to a study performed at a VA hospital in Ohio. Researchers from Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland examined how oen MRSA transmission occurred from the floors of contaminated rooms to adjacent rooms. Researchers had healthcare workers walk into the index rooms and then into the two adjacent rooms. Aer conducting three to four simulations for each room, researchers measured the number of MRSA colony-forming units on the floors of the adjacent rooms. MRSA was transferred in 18 of 38 assessments in the first adjacent room, and in 12 of 38 assessments from adjacent room two, according to the findings published Sept. 30 in the American Journal of Infection Control. "ese findings build upon evidence suggesting that contaminated floors and shoes could be an underappreciated source for pathogen dissemination in healthcare facilities," researchers said. "Future studies are needed to assess the impact of interventions such as floor or shoe disinfection on transfer of pathogens." n Nation's 1st C. auris cluster among kids detected at Nevada hospital By Mackenzie Bean T he nation's first confirmed cluster of Candida auris infections among children was detected at Las Vegas-based Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Oct. 22. In total, the hospital has confirmed four cases of the deadly, drug-resistant fungus, according to CDC and state data. One of the children died, Dawn Cribb, a public information officer for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, told the Review-Journal. Nationwide, less than 10 C. auris cases have been reported in children and "no clusters with multiple pediatric cases at a single facility have previously been identified," the CDC wrote in a May situation report that the Review-Journal obtained through a public records request. The pediatric cases came as various medical facilities in Southern Nevada grappled with C. auris outbreaks last spring. Between August 2021 and this September, more than 530 cases have been reported across 26 hospitals and nursing homes in the region. Prior to 2021, no cases had been detected in the state. Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center has since ramped up disinfection practices for shared medical equipment and started testing at-risk patients for C. auris upon entry to the facility, according to Steven Merta, MD, the hospital's chief medical officer. n Florida hospital nurse contracted monkeypox from needlestick, CDC says By Mackenzie Bean A Florida hospital nurse was exposed to monkeypox through a needlestick in July, representing the nation's first confirmed case from a healthcare exposure, the CDC said Oct. 17. The emergency department nurse was exposed July 12 when recapping a needle that was used to pierce a lesion on a patient to access fluid for testing. The patient tested positive for monkeypox later that day. The nurse received the first dose of Jynneos' monkeypox vaccine 15 hours after the needlestick and continued to work over the following days while wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves. Ten days after exposure, the nurse developed a skin lesion at the site of the needlestick and tested positive for monkeypox. The nurse isolated at home for 19 days, and no secondary cases were identified. "CDC advises against unroofing, opening or aspirating monkeypox lesions with sharp instruments (e.g., needles) and recapping used needles because of the risk for sharps injuries," the agency said. "Because of the reliability and sensitivity of real-time PCR assays used, vigorous swabbing of the outer surface of a lesion is adequate to collect enough viral material for testing and will minimize the potential for needlesticks." n

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