This study analysed the risk of hand contamination after contact with skin or environmental sites of 40 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriers. The authors found no difference in hand contamination after contact with contaminated skin or contaminated surfaces, suggesting that especially high-touch surfaces play a major role in transmission of pathogens.
Contamination of hands with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after contact with environmental surfaces and after contact with the skin of colonized patients.
Inanimate surfaces, and especially surfaces with frequent hand and skin contact, contribute significantly to the transmission of pathogens.