‘Superbugs’ found on many hospital patients’ hands and what they touch most often

For decades, hospitals have worked to get staff to wash their hands and prevent the spread of germs. But a new study suggests they may want to expand those efforts to their patients, too. Fourteen percent of 399 hospital patients had ‘superbug’ antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their hands or nostrils early in their hospital stay, and nearly a third of tests for such bacteria on objects that patients commonly touch came back positive.