Germs that lurk in hospital bathrooms

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People generally check into hospitals to get well, not to get sicker. But hospital-acquired infections have become a major problem in this country and worldwide. Now a new study is pointing a finger of blame at hospital housekeeping staff and their cleaning techniques.

Researchers in Canada used a lotion that glows under ultraviolet light to show that up to one-third of patient toilets are not properly cleaned. The scientists checked for the dangerous bacterium Clostridium difficile, which causes diarrhea and can lead to blood poisoning and death. Even 40% of the samples taken from the cleanest toilets contained C. difficile spores, suggesting the cleaning agents may not be working so well either. The study was published in BMC Infectious Diseases.

Last month, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that C. difficile cases in hospital patients increased by 200% between 2000 and 2005. Though no one relishes the thought of unclean hospital bathrooms, the repercussions of clinging C. difficile germs are profound. The healthcare agency reports that patients with the infection (which results after previous antibiotic therapy suppresses the normal bacteria of the colon) were hospitalized almost three times longer than uninfected patients and had an in-hospital death rate of 9.5% compared with 2.1% overall.

-- Shari Roan

Drawing: Paul Corio / For The Times