page_title: Scrubs (clothing)
section_title: Cleaning
hierarchical_section_title: Scrubs (clothing) / Cleaning
caption_attribution_description: Isatu Jalloh and Adama Samura are just two of the hidden heroes helping to beat the disease at the Makeni Ebola treatment centre - run by International Medical Corps and supported by UK aid. They keep on top of the laundry, washing nurses' and doctors' scrubs so that they in turn can keep focussed on the life-saving medical care. Meet more of the hidden heroes helping to defeat the disease in Sierra Leone at: bit.ly/ebolaheroes Picture: Jessica Seldon/DFID Free-to-use photo This image is posted under a Creative Commons - Attribution Licence, in accordance with the Open Government Licence. You are free to embed, download or otherwise re-use it, as long as you credit the source as 'Jessica Seldon/DFID'.
context_page_description: Scrubs are the sanitary clothing worn by surgeons, nurses, physicians and other workers involved in patient care in hospitals. Originally designed for use by surgeons and other operating room personnel, who would put them on when sterilizing themselves, or "scrubbing in", before surgery, they are now worn by many hospital personnel. Their use has been extended outside hospitals as well, to work environments where clothing may come into contact with infectious agents. Scrubs are designed to be simple, easy to launder, and cheap to replace if damaged or stained irreparably. In the United Kingdom, scrubs are sometimes known as theatre blues.
  The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has increased the use of scrubs but can give wearers a false sense of security that they are 'clean' when in fact they are as easily contaminated as any other clothing.
context_section_description: Surgical scrubs are not generally owned by the wearer.  Due to concerns about home laundering and sterility issues, these scrubs are usually hospital-owned or hospital-leased through a commercial linen service. And due to these laundering and sterility limitations, disposable scrub suits were introduced in the market.
caption: January 2015 laundry service in a medical facility in Sierra Leone. The scrubs are cleaned in-house to prevent the spread of disease.
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