Intensive Care Unit Sluice Room Sinks as Reservoirs and Sources of Potential Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria in a South African Tertiary Care Hospital

Carbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) pose a major health risk to patients in intensive care units (ICU) across African hospitals. There are hardly any data about the role of hospital sinks as reservoirs of CRB in resource-poor African settings. Furthermore, the specific within-sink location of the highest concentration of pathogens and the role of splash back as a transmission mechanism remains poorly clarified.

There is a higher density of CRB in the u-bend of ICU sluice room sinks which can act as a potential source of transmission. The data inform targeted CRB transmission-interruption strategies in resource-poor settings.