The major multidrug-resistant pathogens (MRE) in human medicine are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative rod bacteria (MRGN). MRE are a very heterogeneous group with respect to epidemiology and therapeutic or hospital hygiene consequences. After MRSA played an important role among MREs at the beginning of the twenty-first century, VRE and MRGN have come to the fore in recent years. During work in the operating room and on the intensive care unit, there are many possibilities for transmission of MRE between the patient environment and the patient, especially via the hands, e. g. during intubation or catheterization in vessels, tissues or the urinary tract. For this reason, hand and surface hygiene is of particular relevance in the prevention of nosocomial colonization or infection, in particular with MRE.
Keywords: Hand hygiene; Infection transmission; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Nosocomial infection; Vancomycin-resistant enterococci.