Figure 1. Percentage of respondents that sampled specific sites for the target microorganism per country. I) The Netherlands (n=12), II) United Kingdom and Ireland (n=15), III) Other countries (n=25). Sample methods Indirect methods were preferred for all target microorganisms, but differed between countries. Dutch respondents preferred flocked swabs, and never used sponges or rayon swabs. UK and Irish respondents preferred cotton or flocked swabs and sponges, and never used rayon swabs or wipes. Other countries preferred cotton swabs. Direct methods were rarely used and only reported to detect MRSA or VRE. No respondents reported the use of dip slides. Laboratory processing The majority of respondents reported having good to excellent knowledge on sample processing (72/89, 81.8%). Questions on processing methods were answered by 39 (54.2%) respondents. Indirect culture methods were preferred for MRSA, VRE, and CPE, and direct culture methods for Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. For MRSA and VRE, selective enrichment broths were preferred; for CPE and Pseudomonas spp., non-selective enrichment broths were preferred; and for Acinetobacter spp. broths were not preferred. Samples were vortexed before plating (16/38, 42.1%), and direct swabbing was the commonest plating technique (20/38, 52.6%). 3 133 Environmental sampling practices of innate hospital surfaces
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