woman patient lying down
Hospitals, Infectious Disease, Microbiology, Surgery, University of Washington

Infections after surgery are more likely due to bacteria already on your skin than from microbes in the hospital − UW researchers find

Research comparing bacteria in the microbiome – those colonizing our noses, skin and other areas of the body – with the bacteria that cause pneumonia, diarrhea, bloodstream infections and surgical site infections shows that the bacteria living innocuously on our own bodies when we’re healthy are most often responsible for these bad infections when we’re sick.