$300K grant awarded to study airborne MRSA in health care settings

Work of UC researchers featured on insurance industry site

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has awarded a $300,000 grant to the University of Cincinnati to study airborne MRSA to better protect health care workers.

Most infections of MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, occur in people who have been in hospitals, making it an especially strong risk for those working in health care settings.

Businessinsurance.com reported that researchers will be studying if MRSA, a type of staph bacteria, is present in the air in hospitals and the airborne transmission rate.

Experts say while MRSA has traditionally been transmitted through person-to-person contact, and through contact with contaminated surfaces, emerging evidence shows the presence of airborne MRSA in hospital settings. It poses a new risk to patients and health care workers.

So, researchers from UC's division of environmental and industrial hygiene in the Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences at the College of Medicine will conduct laboratory and field work at UC Medical Center.

If live MRSA is discovered in the air, researchers will recommend disinfecting the air and offer other recommendations to further enhance workplace safety.

Click here to read the UC News report on the grant and the research.

Featured image at top: Gloved hand holding Petri dish with bacteria growing. Photo/Provided.

Related Stories

1

Tips to avoid headaches this holiday season

December 15, 2025

A University of Cincinnati migraine expert offered a list of potential headache triggers around the holidays, and how you can try to avoid them, to 91.7 WVXU News. "There are a number of different factors that make this a very headache provocative time," said Vincent Martin, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at the Gardner Neuroscience Institute.

2

Local couple uses royalties from children's books to give gifts to kids in need

December 15, 2025

A local couple has found a unique way to give back to those in need this holiday season. Vic and Laura Troha wrote two children's books together, and this year, they are using the proceeds to buy Christmas gifts for Hamilton County foster kids. The couple are both graduates of the University of Cincinnati's College of Allied Health Sciences and met the day they graduated.

3

The hottest toys this holiday season

December 15, 2025

Local 12 turned to Lindner College of Business associate professor-educator of marketing Roseann Hassey to explain what’s got the trendiest items flying off the shelves.