Home washing machines fail to remove important pathogens from textiles

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Pre- and post-domestic laundering of bacteria contaminated textiles. Credit: Dr. Caroline Cayrou, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Health care workers who wash their uniforms at home may be unknowingly contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, according to a new study led by Katie Laird of De Montfort University, published in PLOS One. Hospital-acquired infections are a major public health concern, in part because they frequently involve antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Many nurses and health care workers clean their uniforms at home in standard washing machines, but some studies have found that bacteria can be transmitted through clothing, raising the question of whether these machines can sufficiently prevent the spread of dangerous microbes. In t ... Read full article.