Sphygmomanometers and thermometers as potential fomites of Staphylococcus haemolyticus: biofilm formation in the presence of antibiotics.

Background: The association between Staphylococcus haemolyticus and severe nosocomial infections is increasing. However, the extent to which fomites contribute to the dissemination of this pathogen through patients and hospital wards remains unknown.

Objectives: In the present study, sphygmomanometers and thermometers were evaluated as potential fomites of oxacillin-resistant S.

Staphylococcus haemolyticus disseminated among neonates with bacteremia in a neonatal intensive care unit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus (ORSH) was found as the most prevalent (77.5%) species of coagulase-negative staphylococci associated with bacteremia in neonates making use of intravenous catheters in an intensive care unit of a Brazilian teaching hospital. Thirty-one blood isolates were confirmed as S.