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How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised? (2020)
Journal Article
Morawska, L., Tang, J. W., Bahnfleth, W., Bluyssen, P. M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Cao, J., Dancer, S., Floto, A., Franchimon, F., Haworth, C., Hogeling, J., Isaxon, C., Jimenez, J. L., Kurnitski, J., Li, Y., Loomans, M., Marks, G., Marr, L. C., Mazzarella, L., …Yao, M. (2020). How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?. Environment International, 142, Article 105832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105832

During the rapid rise in COVID-19 illnesses and deaths globally, and notwithstanding recommended precautions, questions are voiced about routes of transmission for this pandemic disease. Inhaling small airborne droplets is probable as a third route o... Read More about How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?.

Bacterial Transfer To Fingertips During Sequential Surface Contacts With And Without Gloves (2020)
Journal Article
King, M., López‐García, M., Atedoghu, K. P., Zhang, N., Wilson, A. M., Weterings, M., Hiwar, W., Dancer, S. J., Noakes, C. J., & Fletcher, L. A. (2020). Bacterial Transfer To Fingertips During Sequential Surface Contacts With And Without Gloves. Indoor Air, 30(5), 993-1004. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12682

Bacterial transmission from contaminated surfaces via hand contact plays a critical role in disease spread. However, the fomite‐to‐finger transfer efficiency of microorganisms during multiple sequential surface contacts with and without gloves has no... Read More about Bacterial Transfer To Fingertips During Sequential Surface Contacts With And Without Gloves.

Dynamic Transmission of Staphylococcus Aureus in the Intensive Care Unit (2020)
Journal Article
Adams, C. E., & Dancer, S. J. (2020). Dynamic Transmission of Staphylococcus Aureus in the Intensive Care Unit. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), Article 2109. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062109

Staphylococcus aureus is an important bacterial pathogen. This study utilized known staphylococcal epidemiology to track S. aureus between patients, surfaces, staff hands and air in a ten-bed intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: Patients, air and surf... Read More about Dynamic Transmission of Staphylococcus Aureus in the Intensive Care Unit.

Measuring environmental contamination in critical care using dilute hydrogen peroxide (DHP) technology: An observational cross-over study (2020)
Journal Article
Oon, A., Reading, E., Ferguson, J., Dancer, S., & Mitchell, B. (2020). Measuring environmental contamination in critical care using dilute hydrogen peroxide (DHP) technology: An observational cross-over study. Infection, Disease & Health, 25(2), 107-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2019.12.005

Background The environment has an important role in the transmission of healthcare associated infections. This has encouraged interest in novel methods to improve hygiene in hospitals. One such technology is the use of hydrogen peroxide to decontami... Read More about Measuring environmental contamination in critical care using dilute hydrogen peroxide (DHP) technology: An observational cross-over study.

Do pneumatic tube transport systems transmit potential pathogens? A hygienic risk assessment in a university hospital (2019)
Journal Article
Khaznadar, L., Dancer, S., Petersmann, A., Seifert, U., Below, H., Papke, R., Suchomel, M., Kohlmann, T., & Kramer, A. (2020). Do pneumatic tube transport systems transmit potential pathogens? A hygienic risk assessment in a university hospital. Journal of Hospital Infection, 104(3), 374-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2019.11.009

Background Prompted by an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in a medical facility, this study examined a pneumatic tube transport system (PTS) as a potential transmission channel. Method Samples from the receiving station and en... Read More about Do pneumatic tube transport systems transmit potential pathogens? A hygienic risk assessment in a university hospital.

Hand antisepsis without decreasing efficacy by shortening the rub-in time of alcohol-based handrubs to 15 seconds (2019)
Journal Article
Harnoss, J., Dancer, S., Kaden, C., Baguhl, R., Kohlmann, T., Papke, R., Zygmunt, M., Assadian, O., Suchomel, M., Pittet, D., & Kramer, A. (2020). Hand antisepsis without decreasing efficacy by shortening the rub-in time of alcohol-based handrubs to 15 seconds. Journal of Hospital Infection, 104(4), 419-424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2019.09.004

Background A previous study among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses showed that the antibacterial efficacy of alcohol-based handrubs (ABHR) can be achieved in 15 s instead of 30 s with a significant increase in the frequency of hand antisep... Read More about Hand antisepsis without decreasing efficacy by shortening the rub-in time of alcohol-based handrubs to 15 seconds.

Emergence of an Australian-like pstS-null vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium clone in Scotland (2019)
Journal Article
Lemonidis, K., Salih, T. S., Dancer, S. J., Hunter, I. S., & Tucker, N. P. (2019). Emergence of an Australian-like pstS-null vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium clone in Scotland. PLOS ONE, 14(6), Article e0218185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218185

Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) is widely used to monitor the phylogeny of microbial outbreaks. However, several strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) with a missing MLST locus (pstS) have recently emerged in Australia, wi... Read More about Emergence of an Australian-like pstS-null vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium clone in Scotland.

Tracking Staphylococcus aureus in the intensive care unit using Whole-Genome Sequencing (2019)
Journal Article
Dancer, S. J., Adams, C. E., Smith, J., Pichon, B., Kearns, A., & Morrison, D. (2019). Tracking Staphylococcus aureus in the intensive care unit using Whole-Genome Sequencing. Journal of Hospital Infection, 103(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2019.04.016

Background: Staphylococcus aureus remains an important bacterial pathogen worldwide. This study utilized known staphylococcal epidemiology to track S. aureus between different ecological reservoirs in one ten-bed intensive care unit (ICU). Methods... Read More about Tracking Staphylococcus aureus in the intensive care unit using Whole-Genome Sequencing.

Four Steps to Clean Hospitals: Look; Plan; Clean; and Dry (2018)
Journal Article
Dancer, S. J., & Kramer, A. (2019). Four Steps to Clean Hospitals: Look; Plan; Clean; and Dry. Journal of Hospital Infection, 103(1), e1-e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.12.015

Background Now that cleaning and decontamination are recognised as integral to infection control, it is timely to examine the process in more detail. This is because cleaning practices vary widely within healthcare districts and it is likely that bo... Read More about Four Steps to Clean Hospitals: Look; Plan; Clean; and Dry.

Protracted diagnosis of ACNES: a costly exercise (2018)
Journal Article
Dancer, S. J., Macpherson, S. G., & de Beaux, A. C. (2018). Protracted diagnosis of ACNES: a costly exercise. Journal of Surgical Case Reports, 2018(9), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1093/jscr/rjy230

This case report summarizes the course of events leading to diagnosis and eventual repair of anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) in a 58-year-old female. The time period elapsing from initial symptoms to final operative repair was 9... Read More about Protracted diagnosis of ACNES: a costly exercise.

Beware Biofilm! Dry biofilms containing bacterial pathogens on multiple healthcare surfaces; a multicentre study (2018)
Journal Article
Ledwoch, K., Dancer, S., Otter, J., Kerr, K., Roposte, D., Rushton, L., Weiser, R., Mahenthiralingam, E., Muir, D., & Maillard, J. (2018). Beware Biofilm! Dry biofilms containing bacterial pathogens on multiple healthcare surfaces; a multicentre study. Journal of Hospital Infection, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.06.028

Background Wet biofilms associated with medical devices have been widely studied and their link with healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) is well recognized. Little attention has been paid to the presence of dry biofilms on environmental surface... Read More about Beware Biofilm! Dry biofilms containing bacterial pathogens on multiple healthcare surfaces; a multicentre study.

Estimating excess length of stay due to healthcare-associated infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis of statistical methodology (2018)
Journal Article
Manoukian, S., Stewart, S., Dancer, S., Graves, N., Mason, H., McFarland, A., Robertson, C., & Reilly, J. (2018). Estimating excess length of stay due to healthcare-associated infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis of statistical methodology. Journal of Hospital Infection, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.06.003

Background Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) affects millions of patients worldwide. HAI is associated with increased healthcare costs, owing primarily to increased hospital length of stay (LOS) but calculating these costs is complicated due to... Read More about Estimating excess length of stay due to healthcare-associated infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis of statistical methodology.

Is there an association between airborne and surface microbes in the critical care environment? (2018)
Journal Article
Smith, J., Adams, C., King, M., Noakes, C., Robertson, C., & Dancer, S. (2018). Is there an association between airborne and surface microbes in the critical care environment?. Journal of Hospital Infection, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.04.003

Background There are few data and no accepted standards for air quality in the intensive care unit (ICU). Any relationship between airborne pathogens and hospital-acquired infection (HAI) risk in the ICU remains unknown. Aim First, to correlate en... Read More about Is there an association between airborne and surface microbes in the critical care environment?.

Quantifying the relative effect of environmental contamination on surgical ward MRSA incidence: An exploratory analysis (2018)
Journal Article
Lee, X. J., Pettitt, A. N., & Dancer, S. J. (2018). Quantifying the relative effect of environmental contamination on surgical ward MRSA incidence: An exploratory analysis. Infection, Disease & Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2018.02.005

Background: To investigate and quantify the contribution of environmental contamination towards methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) incidence observed in a hospital ward using stochastic modelling. Methods: A non-homogeneous Poisson pr... Read More about Quantifying the relative effect of environmental contamination on surgical ward MRSA incidence: An exploratory analysis.