Serratia marcescens Colonization in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Has Multiple Sources, with Sink Drains as a Major Reservoir.

ABSTRACT: Compelling evidence suggests a contribution of the sink environment to the transmission of opportunistic pathogens from the hospital environment to patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). In this study, the distribution of the opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens in the sink environment and newborns in a NICU was investigated. More than 500 sink drain and faucet samples were collected over the course of five sampling campaigns undertaken over 3 years. Distribution and diversity of S. marcescens were examined with a modified MacConkey medium and a high-throughput short-sequence typing (HiSST) method. Sink drains were an important reservoir of S. marcescens, with an average of 44% positive samples, whereas no faucet sample was positive. The genotypic diversity of S. marcescen

SUBMITTER: Bourdin T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10231179 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature