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Several studies have shown that stethoscopes can be contaminated with pathogens such as Clostridium difficile and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Now, researchers have examined the risk for transmitting these pathogens by stethoscope and methods for disinfecting contaminated scopes. The investigation was partially supported by a company that produces sanitizers.
In the laboratory, stethoscopes that were contaminated with C. difficile spores or MRSA, either by direct inoculation or by exposure to artificially contaminated skin surfaces, could transfer the pathogens to agar plates. Similarly, with simulated examination of colonized patients, such transfer by stethoscope was demonstrable for both C. difficile and MRSA (14% o…