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