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PREVENTION
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HAND
HYGIENE
Respiratory Infections May Spread Via
Personal Clothing, Study Finds
By Shannon Barnet
C
lothes worn by caregivers and people who are
visiting infants in the neonatal intensive care
unit may carry and spread respiratory infections
in the NICU, according to recent research being
presented at the International Conference on
Emerging and Infectious Diseases.
Nusrat Homaira, PhD, a researcher from the
University of New South Wales in Sydney, collected
swabs from the personal clothing of caregivers
and visitors in an NICU of the Royal Hospital for
Women in Sydney. Dr. Homaira then examined
the swabs for traces of respiratory syncytial virus
— the leading cause of childhood respiratory
hospitalizations among premature babies.
e study was conducted during periods of
heightened seasonal RSV activity, when the number
of hospital admissions due to RSV increased.
Highlighted below are three findings from Dr.
Homaira's study.
1. A total of 4 percent of the clothing swabs
collected had detectable traces of RSV.
2. RSV was also detected on 9 percent of the high-
touch areas in the NICU, including computers on
the nurse's table, bedside chairs and the patients'
bed rails.
3. RSV was not detectable in the hands of the
physicians, nurses or the visitors. ere was alcohol
based hand rub available at point of care and hand
hygiene practices were prevalent within the NICU.
"ough the detection rate is low, personal
clothing of caregivers and visitors do get
contaminated with RSV," said Dr. Homaira, who
pointed out that caregivers and visitors are not
required to change clothing when they walk into
the hospital's NICU. "ere is a need for further
research to evaluate how long the virus remains
infectious on personal clothing, which will have
policy implications in terms of need for use of
separate gowns by the visitors while they are in the
NICU." n
INFECTION
PREVENTION
/
HAND
HYGIENE
