Generation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa aerosols during hand- washing from contaminated sink drains, transmission to hands of hospitalpersonnel, and its prevention by use of a new heating device.

Introduction and Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen and produce widespread infections. Increasing of antibiotic usage for P.aeruginosa infections, created antibiotic resistance and subsequently to produce new antibiotics.Materials and Methods: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from sinks of washing basi ns, showers, toilets and bathtubs, from the personnel and patients of a mixed infectious disease ward in the 2 Tehran hospitals during a prospective 8-week epidemiological study.Results: The 86% of all sinks were contaminated with P. aeruginosa strains. Upon entering the hospital, all personnel hand cultures were P. aeruginosa-negative. However, during duty, 38% of the personnel members carried different P. aeruginosa strains on their hands.Conclusion: Detection of P. aeruginosa strains in sinks preceding the isolation of identical genotypes from personnel hands suggested a transmission route from sinks to hands. Opening of water taps generated aerosols containing P. aeruginosa sink organisms which contaminatedhands during hand washing. Survival times of various P. aeruginosa strains in aerosols was dependent on strain characteristics, light and humidity, and t 1/2 differed between 3-76 min. Heating of washing basin sinks to 70 degrees C with a new, safe and inexpensive deviceinhibited bacterial growth in sinks, generation of P. aeruginosa aerosols, and resulted in hand cultures negative for P. aeruginosa after washing.

Keywords:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa , hand- washing , prevention , hospital