In a 2019 collaboration between the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon and the Oregon Health & Sciences University, we sampled various window surfaces from patient rooms in a hospital ward. We characterized the viable bacterial community located on these surfaces, and investigated the association of relative light exposure of the surface (in direct light or not), the cardinal direction of the room (and roughly the amount of total light exposure in a day), and proximity of the patient room to the nurses’ station (which has higher occupancy and traffic).
The microbial community found in buildings is primarily a reflection of the occupants, and in the case of hospitals, the microbiota may be sourced from patients, staff, or visitors. In addition to leaving microbiota behind, occupants may pick up microorganisms from building surfaces. Most of the time, this continuous exchange of microorganisms between a person and their surroundings is unremarkable and does not raise concerns. But in a hospital setting with immunocompromised patients, these microbial reservoirs may pose a risk. Window glass, sills, and the surfaces around windows are often forgotten during hospital disinfection protocols, and the microbial communities found there have not previously been examined.
This paper is the first first-authored research paper from a former undergraduate mentee of mine at the University of Oregon; Patrick Horve.
Horve, P.F., Dietz, L., Ishaq, S.L., Kline, J., Fretz, M., Van Den Wymelenberg, K. 2020. Viable bacterial communities on hospital window components in patient rooms. PeerJ 8: e9580. Impact 2.353. Article.