Many healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, may be carrying more than just their stethoscopes and trays around the hospital. The study shows that their clothing may contain deadly infection-causing organisms, like MRSA.

A group of Israeli scientists swabbed the white coats and uniforms worn by doctors and nurses. What they found on the clothing was staggering. They found that more than 60% of items of clothing contained clusters of potentially dangerous bacteria. Doctors uniforms tended to be slightly cleaner than nurses, but only just. Approximately 60% of doctors clothing contained bacteria, while 65% of nurses clothing were contaminated.

What Arizona medical malpractice lawyers find even more alarming is the presence of potentially deadly, antibiotic-resistant bugs like MRSA on the clothing. Antibiotic resistant strains were found on 14% of the nurses’ uniforms, and about 6% of the doctors clothing.

However, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology believes that there is no reason for concern, because there is minimal risk of infections spreading through doctors’ clothing. Most hospital-acquired infections spread through poor hand washing practices by healthcare professionals. Even the researchers note that patients may not be at risk of infections through the germs on the nurses or doctors clothing. However, any infection risks still exist when you consider that the people coming in contact with these doctors and nurses with contaminated clothing are in a fragile state, with weakened immune systems.

Changing clothing everyday seems to dramatically reduce the risks of contamination. Only 8% of doctors and nurses who changed their clothing daily were found to have germs on their uniforms, while 29% of professionals who did not change clothes every day, were found to have germs on their clothing.