Bed-making in the hospital setting – Does it pose infectious risks?

In order to assess the infectious risk of dispersal of microorganisms during bed-making we measured aerial concentration of bacteria near the beds of 96 patients immediately before and during bed-making. There was a significantly increased bacterial level during bed-making. Potentially pathogenic bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus could be identified. However, the importance of this is uncertain, because minimal infectious doses and necessary aerial concentration are not known.