ASM: Nurses’ pierced earring holes facilitate transmission of pathogens, including MRSA
as presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology
According to Japanese researchers, the pierced earring holes of some
healthcare professionals (HCPs) facilitate the horizontal transmission
of pathogens and are a potential source of healthcare-associated
infections (HAI), including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They presented their study at ASM, held in May-June in New Orleans.
To determine the risk of transmission when a HCP’s finger comes into contact with bacteria on the pierced hole of the ear lobe site, investigators compared bacteria recovered from the area of the pierced hole vs fingers of the HCP to determine the potential role of pierced holes as a source of HAIs.
Samples from the back of the ear lobe were taken with a sterile swab from a total of 200 university hospital nurses -- those with and without pierced earring holes. The swabs were inoculated on blood agar plates; the surface of the fingertips were also rubbed onto the surface of blood agar plates. Isolated colonies were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility performed.
Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the pierced earring holes of 24 (18%) of 128 HCPs compared to seven (10%) of the 72 non-pierced ear ring wearers, respectively. Six (25%) of the 24 S. aureus isolates from the pierced earring holes were MRSA. In 12 HCPs, S. aureus was isolated from both the pierced holes and fingers with three (25%) HPCs positive for MRSA. These MRSA isolates had the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern from both the pierced holes and fingers.
“This study demonstrated the isolation of the same MRSA strain in both the pierced earring holes and fingers of HCPs, which suggests the potential for horizontal HAI spread from the fingers of HCP who have pierced earring holes,” concluded the researchers, from the Toho University Faculty of Nursing in Tokyo.
To determine the risk of transmission when a HCP’s finger comes into contact with bacteria on the pierced hole of the ear lobe site, investigators compared bacteria recovered from the area of the pierced hole vs fingers of the HCP to determine the potential role of pierced holes as a source of HAIs.
Samples from the back of the ear lobe were taken with a sterile swab from a total of 200 university hospital nurses -- those with and without pierced earring holes. The swabs were inoculated on blood agar plates; the surface of the fingertips were also rubbed onto the surface of blood agar plates. Isolated colonies were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility performed.
Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the pierced earring holes of 24 (18%) of 128 HCPs compared to seven (10%) of the 72 non-pierced ear ring wearers, respectively. Six (25%) of the 24 S. aureus isolates from the pierced earring holes were MRSA. In 12 HCPs, S. aureus was isolated from both the pierced holes and fingers with three (25%) HPCs positive for MRSA. These MRSA isolates had the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern from both the pierced holes and fingers.
“This study demonstrated the isolation of the same MRSA strain in both the pierced earring holes and fingers of HCPs, which suggests the potential for horizontal HAI spread from the fingers of HCP who have pierced earring holes,” concluded the researchers, from the Toho University Faculty of Nursing in Tokyo.
