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Although our knowledge of the human microbiome is expanding rapidly, less is known about the environmental microbiome. To improve our approaches to preventing hospital-acquired infections, we need better understanding of the characteristics and dynamics of the hospital microbiome. To this end, researchers used sequencing technology to examine changes in the bacterial diversity on surfaces and on patients and staff during the first year after a new hospital opened.
The researchers obtained 6523 microbial samples from the skin and nares of patients and hospital staff and from patient rooms, nurse stations, and hospital air and water. Before the hospital opening, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas species predominantly colonized surfaces, but shortl…