The researchers tracked the contamination rate of 10 freshly laundered privacy curtains at a hospital in Winnipeg, Canada.
The curtains had minimal contamination when they were first hung, but curtains hung in patient rooms became increasingly contaminated over time. By day 14 of the study period, 87.5 percent of the curtains tested positive for MRSA. Curtains that were not placed in patient rooms, however, stayed clean the entire 21 days of the study.