Hospital floors and sinks may pose infection risks, ones that could be overlooked when trying to control the spread of disease.

The floors in patient rooms may be contaminated by bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Clostridium difficile, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. These pathogens, which can cause potentially deadly infections, can be spread when items are dropped on the floor, the researchers noted.

The research team swabbed a number of surfaces, including the floors, clothing, call-buttons and other high-touch items, in 159 rooms at five Cleveland hospitals, according to the study. The study included C. difficile-isolated rooms, and researchers found floors were often tainted by bacteria, most commonly with MRSA, C. difficile and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The researchers also found that in 41% of these rooms, at least one high-touch object came in contact with the floor.

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