Environmental decontamination with hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) in the control of an MRSA outbreak.

Following a UK hospital outbreak of MRSA, where it was not possible to empty the ward, the ward was decontaminated using HPV in sequential clinical areas and assessed the level of environmental contamination before and after. Weekly swabbing was then carried out to examine the rate of recontamination and monitored patient infection by admission and discharge screening over four weeks. There was a sustained environmental impact and no patients acquired MRSA for the 4 weeks after HPV. The authors found a fairly high staff carriage rate and conducted patient and staff decolonization in addition to the HPV decontamination and other infection control measures so were not able to conclude which was the most important intervention. Abstracts of the International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, K-464.