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Protect Patients from MRSA with Clean Air Technology

Read MRSA in the Air: How Hospitals Can Protect Patients from Infection - Part 1

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Is MRSA Airborne or Droplet Transmitted?

Healthcare professionals frequently ask: is MRSA airborne, or is MRSA contagious through air? While Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was historically viewed primarily as a contact-spread pathogen, extensive clinical research confirms that MRSA is airborne as well as transmitted via micro-droplets and contaminated surfaces.

Surfaces become contaminated with MRSA through the direct touch of an infected person—or when airborne MRSA particles settle onto high-touch healthcare surfaces. Because aerosolized bacteria hover in the breathing zone, understanding whether MRSA is it airborne has reshaped modern hospital infection control protocols.

As mounting research confirms, airborne MRSA droplets hover in healthcare facilities and play a major role in MRSA colonization and infection, especially via a patient’s nasal cavity and respiratory tract.

Clinical Evidence: How Airborne MRSA Spreads in Hospitals

In a Japanese clinical study, air samples were collected from the rooms of head and neck cancer patients colonized or infected with MRSA after surgery. About 20% of the MRSA particles were small enough to be respirable. Furthermore, the identical strain of MRSA was identified on sinks, floors, bedsheets, and patients’ hands.

The upshot: MRSA recirculates continuously among patients, air currents, and surfaces, especially during routine room movement like changing bed linens. “Measures should be taken to prevent the spread of airborne MRSA,” the researchers concluded.

Turkish researchers also detected airborne MRSA after tracking 179 patients across operating theatres and intensive care units (ICUs). In fact, MRSA was identified as one of the two most prevalent airborne pathogens (alongside Acinetobacter baumannii). High concentrations of viable airborne particles, researchers concluded, represent a major risk factor for immunocompromised patients.

While it is difficult to isolate the exact percentage of total transmissions, research strongly implicates airborne spread in the broader superbug crisis. As a University of Leeds aerobiologist noted, “The contribution of airborne micro-organisms to the spread of infection is likely to be greater than is currently recognised.”

Air Disinfection Technology: Inactivating Airborne MRSA

Containing MRSA requires multi-layered efforts, including rigorous hand hygiene and prudent antibiotic stewardship. In addition, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities must upgrade disinfection standards for both physical surfaces and indoor air.

Improving surface disinfection often requires substantial investment in internal cleaning staff, as studies link outsourced cleaning to higher infection rates. For example, a study of 126 English hospitals revealed that facilities contracting out cleaning reported nearly 50% more MRSA infections than those utilizing in-house teams. “Contracting out [cleaning] may save money, but this is at the price of increasing risks to patients’ health,” noted co-author David Stuckler, Ph.D.

Continuous air disinfection, by contrast, operates automatically without adding burden to environmental services staff. For healthcare facilities throughout Europe and North America, NanoStrikeTM technology by Novaerus has become a critical weapon against MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), and airborne respiratory viruses like influenza and norovirus.

Novaerus technology is proven highly effective against MRSA bioaerosols:

In acute care settings, ultra-low-energy plasma technology provides vital airborne infection control. Whereas standard HVAC filters capture large dust particles, Novaerus units destroy smaller aerosolized bacteria directly at the cellular level.

Furthermore, NanoStrike technology is safe for continuous 24/7 operation around vulnerable patients. Unlike aggressive sanitation methods—such as UV (cataract risk), hydrogen peroxide misting (respiratory irritation), or photocatalytic oxidation (which off-gasses formaldehyde)—plasma air purification leaves zero toxic byproducts.

Novaerus units can be easily deployed in high-risk zones such as operating rooms, patient wards, ICUs, and emergency departments. As superbug strains become resistant to traditional treatments, destroying airborne pathogens before they land on lab coats, surgical gloves, and bedside rails is essential to patient safety.

Conclusion: Stopping Pathogen Transmission at the Source

As MRSA and other superbug infections become increasingly difficult to treat with traditional antibiotics, healthcare facilities must proactively destroy these pathogens in the air. By inactivating airborne MRSA before it can be inhaled by patients or land on surgical gear, door handles, and clinical equipment, healthcare operators can break the cycle of infection and safeguard patient outcomes.

Explore how Novaerus clean air technology protects patients and healthcare personnel.