RESEARCH suggests that healthcare workers who wash their scrubs and uniforms at home may be unknowingly contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Hospital-acquired infections are a major public health concern, in part because they frequently involve antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
UK researchers tested six models of home washing machines to see if they successfully decontaminated healthcare worker uniforms.
Half of the machines did not disinfect the clothing during a rapid cycle, while one third failed to clean sufficiently during the standard cycle.
The team also sampled biofilms - also known as 'gunge' - from inside 12 washing machines, with DNA sequencing revealing the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes.
Investigations also showed that bacteria can develop resistance to domestic detergent, which also increased their resistance to certain antibiotics.
The findings suggest that many home washing machines are not suitable for decontaminating health worker uniforms, and may be contributing to the spread of hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic resistance.
"If we're serious about transmission of infectious disease via textiles and tackling antimicrobial resistance, we must rethink how we launder what our healthcare workers wear," the authors concluded.
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