Instead of being sterile, why superbugs are commonly found in hospitals?
Hospital superbugs are common because people are frequently exposed to them in hospitals. [1][2][3] Many patients are sick or injured and have compromised immune systems, making them susceptible to superbugs. [1][2] Others may be healthy and expose patients to superbugs through needless prescriptions of antibiotics or misusing antibiotics themselves. [3] These practices reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics and lead to superbugs. [4]
Superbugs are invisible and can survive on surfaces for days to weeks, meaning that they can be transferred when one infected person simply touches another person [1]. They can also be transmitted when the patient touches something on which the pathogen resides, such as a stethoscope, a TV remote, a computer mouse, or shared athletic equipment [1]. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated one in 31 Americans contracts a hospital-acquired nosocomial infection (HAI) each day [2]. In a study, 14 percent of 399 hospital patients tested had "superbug" antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their hands or nostrils very early in their hospital stay, the research finds. And nearly a third of tests for such bacteria on objects that patients commonly touch in their rooms, such as the nurse call button, came back positive [3].