ABSTRACT
Electric warm-water lavage toilet seats are in wide use as an appliance beneficial for the maintenance of hygiene and the prophylaxis and improvement of conditions such as constipation and hemorrhoids. In this study, we surveyed the bacterial content in the lavage water of warm-water lavage toilet seats, and fecal bacterial contamination of the gluteal and genital regions due to droplet infection from post-defecation lavage, to examine the problems inherent to the use of such lavage units. The presence of viable bacteria in lavage water was confirmed in this survey. Viable bacterial counts in lavage water were 3-times higher in household units compared to units in public facilities, suggesting a correlation with the replenishment of lavage tank water with fresh water containing residual free chlorine.
Subject(s)
Bacteria/isolation & purification , Buttocks/microbiology , Genitalia/microbiology , Therapeutic Irrigation , Toilet Facilities , Water Microbiology , Humans , Male , Therapeutic Irrigation/adverse effectsABSTRACT
To investigate the contamination by and transmission of MRSA/MRCNS in the old NICU of Hospital A and the relocated NICU (new NICU), we isolated and evaluated staphylococci from nurses' palms, towels under the heads of neonates, infant incubators (including portholes and infant covers), and room air. Detection rates of MRSA/MRCNS isolated from different sample locations were 52.6% in the old NICU and 53.4% in the new NICU, which demonstrates that the nurses' palms in both the old and new NICUs and indoor environment were contaminated with MRSA/MRCNS. In the old NICU, numerous MRSA and MRCNS strains (Log 3.17 ± 0.19 cfu/10 cm²) were identified from towels, and the implementation of improvement plans resulted in a decrease in the number of MRSA/MRCNS isolates (Log 1.95 ± 0.57 cfu/10cm²) from the towels used in the new NICU. A homology study of MRSA/MRCNS strains by PFGE DNA restriction patterns identified genotypes that showed similar patterns in the nurses' palms, towels, infant incubators, and room air.
