Hospital bath basins are frequently contaminated with multidrug-resistant human pathogens

The hospital environment is increasingly recognized as a reservoir for hospital-acquired pathogens. During a 44-month study period, a total of 1,103 basins from 88 hospitals in the United States and Canada were sampled. Overall, 62.2% of the basins (at least 1 basin at each hospital) were contaminated with commonly encountered hospital-acquired pathogens.