A variety of HAI-related microorganisms exist and for this study the selection was mostly determined by the relevance and relative abundance of the microorganisms in the hospitals willing to participate to the present study. Coliforms were selected as an indicator for overall hygiene and cleaning assessment. Although some HAIs are associated with outbreaks and others show rather constant prevalence, the related microorganisms can be found on hard surfaces at any time as presented in this study. This implies that surfaces act as a reservoir that might initiate an outbreakwhen people get contaminated and start spreading the pathogens amongst each other.