We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

logo
  • Engineers & Specifiers
  • Contractors & Installers
  • Wholesalers & Distributors
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Subscription
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • PRODUCTS
    • Bath & Kitchen
    • Fire Protection
    • HVAC
    • Hydronics/Radiant
    • Plumbing
    • PVF
    • Tools
  • PROJECTS
    • Commercial
    • Green Building
    • MRO/Retrofit
    • Remodeling
    • Residential
  • HOW TO
    • Design
    • Fire Protection
    • Legal Matters
    • Management
  • BUSINESS
    • Buying Groups
    • Technology
    • Associations
  • CODES & STANDARDS
    • ANSI
    • ASHRAE
    • ASSE
    • Regulations
    • Green Building
    • IAPMO
    • ICC
    • NFPA
  • RESOURCES
    • PROS REPS
    • Media Kit
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Editions
    • Behind the Wall
    • Webinars
    • Subscribe
  • PODCASTS
  • DIGITAL EDITIONS
Home » Study shows how antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread from hospital sink drain pipe?

Study shows how antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread from hospital sink drain pipe?

March 1, 2017
Droplet dispersion in a hand wash sink traced using GloGerm and illuminated with UV light. Degree of the dispersion is evident from the fluorescent spots (orange and white) seen on the sink counter, faucets, and faucet handles.

Many recent reports have found multidrug resistant bacteria living in hospital sink drainpipes, putting them in close proximity to vulnerable patients. But how the bacteria find their way out of the drains, and into patients has been unclear. Now a team from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, has charted their pathways. The research is published Feb. 24 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. 

“Our study demonstrates that bacterial spread from drainpipes to patients occurs via a staged mode of transmission,” said principal investigator Dr. Amy Mathers, MD, associate professor of Medicine and Pathology, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health at the university.

Initially, the bacteria colonize the elbows of the drain pipes. The investigators showed that from there, the colonies grow slowly towards the sink strainers – at the rate of roughly 1 inch per day, said Mathers.

Given the distance in typical hospital sinks of elbows below the sink bowls, it frequently takes a week for the colonies to reach the sink strainers. From there, bacteria quickly get splattered around the sink, and even onto the counters surrounding the sinks, where they can be picked up by the patients.

The project grew out of the knowledge that patients are dying from infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria that they acquire while hospitalized. In a review Mathers’ team conducted with Alice Kizny Gordon, MBBS (a degree that is common in UK and is like MD) and colleagues of the University of Oxford, UK, they found more than 32 papers describing the spread of bacteria resistant to carbapenem – an important antibiotic – via sinks and other reservoirs of water within hospitals. Half of those papers have appeared since 2010.

In many parts of the world, hospitals are ill-equipped to cope with these superbugs, as in many cases there are few treatment options.

“We wanted to better understand how transmission occurs, so that the numbers of these infections could be reduced,” Mathers said.

The work entailed building what Mathers said is “the only sink lab we are aware of in the U.S.”

Best Practices Codes & Standards Commercial Contractors & Installers Engineers & Specifiers Health Care How To Hydronics/Radiant Industry Community News Infrastructure Lead Legionella Legionnaires' Disease Plumbing Residential Safety Water Quality
  • Related Articles

    Study: Sink Drains Next to Toilets in Patient Rooms Equals a Reservoir of Bacteria

    New eBook from Sage shows how BIM improves construction estimates

    Flushing Bacteria from Stagnant Building Water Piping

Most Popular

  • Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Selection Committee Narrows List to Top Five Finalists

  • Haws Corp. Appoints Chuck Gruber as New CEO

  • Viega Promotes Marki Huston to Chief Operations Officer

  • Uponor, GF Transaction to Close

Featured Video

Aosmith vid

Voltex® AL Smart Hybrid Electric Heat Pump with Anti-Leak Technology

Industry Events

  • 02Dec

    HARDI Annual Conference

    Phoenix, AZ
  • 05Dec

    IGSHPA 2023 Conference & Expo

    Las Vegas, NV
  • 17Jan

    LPG Expo 2024

    San Antonio, TX
More Events

Subscribe to our newsletters & stay updated

Subscribe & Learn More

  • Tw11 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Pe11 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Phc11 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Es 2022
    Learn More
Subscribe

More from PHCP Pros

  • Editorial Team
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise

Follow Us

© 2023 All Rights Reserved

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development | ePublishing