Evaluation of surface contamination with staphylococci in a veterinary hospital using a quantitative microbiological method

Objectives : To evaluate microbial contamination of the environment in a veterinary hospital using standards recommended for human hospitals and to provide a baseline against which further investigations can be compared. Methods : Surfaces were sampled twice daily for five consecutive days using a contact-based counting method to measure the levels of staphylococci in colony forming units (cfu) per cm². Results : Current recommendations for human hospitals were applied in this study; all samples with <2.5cfu/cm² staphylococci were considered to have passed and those with ≥2.5cfu/cm² to have failed. Of all the samples, 55.9% failed. The ICU did not have significantly higher failure rates than other areas of the hospital. The floor as a surface was associated with greater than a threefold increase in odds of elevated cfu concentrations relative to the door handle. Clinical Significance : This study provides information on the microbiological cleanliness of a veterinary teaching hospital using techniques and standards adopted by the food industry and recommended for human hospitals. This data can be used as a baseline for other hospitals, to evaluate the effectiveness in improvements in hygiene and cleaning measures and to design effective hospital cleaning protocols and assess ongoing hygiene standards.