This study investigated contamination of high-touch surfaces in hospital patient rooms with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Five kinds of high-touch surfaces (e.g. call buttons, bedframes) in 68 contact isolation and 32 noncontact isolation rooms were sampled by standard microbiological techniques prior to terminal room disinfection. Both kind of rooms had been occupied for at least 48 hours. For contact isolation rooms a significantly higher mean MRSA count of 5.4 was found, compared to 1.3 for noncontact isolation rooms, respectively. The highest mean MRSA counts were found on bedrails (8.5) for contact isolation rooms, while call buttons (2.6) and toilet seats (2.9) were most contaminated in noncontact isolation rooms. The fact that MRSA contamination was evidenced in noncontact isolation rooms underscores the importance of hand hygiene measures.