OBJECTIVES: To characterize contamination of ambulances and emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians with clinically important pathogens (CIPs) before and after a shift. METHODS: . The EMS clinicians completed surveys on hygiene behaviors and beliefs. Primary outcome was presence of ≥1 CIP at an individual sampling site. RESULTS: was rare (0.1%). When deemed service ready, 63.1% of EMS clinicians and 60% of ambulances had ≥1 CIP. Post-shift contamination remained similar (EMS clinicians 67.6%, ambulances 60%). Emergency 9-1-1 ambulances had higher contamination than nonemergency ambulances. EMS clinicians reported high awareness of the importance of clean uniforms and vehicles. CONCLUSIONS: EMS clinicians and ambulances harbor CIPs when deemed service ready and contamination accumulates during shifts. Pre-shift uniform contamination suggests clinicians may be sources of medical transport setting contamination. Improved uniform hygiene, rigorous terminal cleaning, and targeted interventions are needed to reduce medical transport-associated infection risk.
Schaps et al. (Mon,) studied this question.