Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T10:14:03.504Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Observations on the distribution of Staphylococcus aureus in the atmosphere of a surgical ward

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

Phyllis M. Rountree  and
Mary A. Beard
Phyllis M. Rountree
Affiliation:
Fairfax Institute of Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Mary A. Beard
Affiliation:
Fairfax Institute of Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The environment of two contiguous surgical wards was examined over a period of twelve months by means of a slit sampler, settle plates and blanket sweep plates. At the same time, nasal swabs were taken each week from the patients and all cases of sepsis examined bacteriologically.

Phage typing of more than 3600 isolations of Staph. aureus showed that there was one predominant strain in the air, bedding, patients' noses and infected wounds.

There was no relationship between the total number of bacteria in the ward air and the numbers of Staph. aureus.

The recovery of large numbers of Staph. aureus from the air at certain periods was associated with a high contamination rate in the blankets and with an increased incidence of staphylococcal sepsis.

Not all nasal carriers of Staph. aureus contaminated their bedding. There was evidence that some patients became nasal carriers of strains of staphylococci previously isolated from their bedding.

Some evidence was obtained that blankets may play a role in the transmission of staphylococci from patient to patient.

This work was supported by a grant from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Our thanks are due to Mrs Elisabeth Bradshaw for her technical assistance and to Prof. John Loewenthal for his interest and for permission to study his wards.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , September 1962 , pp. 387 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1962

References

Barber, M. & Kuper, S. W. A. (1951). Identification of Staphylococcus pyogenes by the phosphatase reaction. J. Path. Bact. 63, 65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, J. E. & Williams, R. E. O. (1961). Phage typing of staphylococci. Bull. World Hlth Org. 24, 771.Google ScholarPubMed
Blowers, R. & Wallace, K. R. (1955). The sterilization of blankets with cetyl trimethylamine bromide. Lancet, i, 1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blowers, R., Mason, G. A., Wallace, K. R. & Walton, M. (1955). Control of wound infection in a thoracic surgery unit. Lancet, ii, 786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourdillon, T. B., Lidwell, O. M. & Lovelock, J. E. (1948). Studies in air hygiene. Spec. Rep. Ser. med. Res. Coun., Lond., no. 262, p. 347.Google Scholar
Burke, J. F. & Corrigan, E. A. (1961). Staphylococcal epidemiology on a surgical ward. New Engl. J. Med. 264, 321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cadness-Graves, B., Williams, R., Harper, G. J. & Miles, A. A. (1943). Slide test for coagulase-positive staphylococci. Lancet, i, 736.Google Scholar
Colbeck, J. C. (1956). Studies in hospital infections. Canad. Serv. Med. J. 12, 563.Google ScholarPubMed
Gillespie, W. A., Alder, V. G., Ayliffe, G. A. J., Powell, D. E. B. & Wypkema, W. (1961). Control of staphylococcal cross-infection in surgical wards. Lancet, i, 1299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, R. & Cooke, E. M. (1961). Self contamination of patients with staphylococcal infection. Brit. med. J. 2, 333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, C. W., Silva, T. F., Marston, A. T. & Woo, D. D. B. (1961). Staphylococcal contamination of mattresses and blankets on a surgical ward under non-epidemic conditions. New. Engl. J. Med. 264, 625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lidwell, O. M., Noble, W. C. & Dolphin, G. W. (1959). The use of radiation to estimate the numbers of micro-organisms in air-borne particles. J. Hyg., Camb., 57, 299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, B. (1960). A new screen test and selective medium for the rapid detection of epidemic strains of Staph. aureus. Lancet, ii, 453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pressley, T. A. (1958). The fibre composition of hospital dust. Lancet, ii, 712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rountree, P. M. (1947). Cross-infection of wounds in a surgical ward during a trial of the use of oiled blankets. Med. J. Aust. i, 427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rountree, P. M., Harrington, M., Loewenthal, J. & Gye, R. (1960). Staphylococcal wound infection in a surgical unit. Lancet, ii, 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubbo, S. D., Pressley, T. A., Stratford, B. C. & Dixson, S. (1960). Vehicles of transmission of airborne bacteria in hospital wards. Lancet, ii, 397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shooter, R. A., Smith, M. A., Griffiths, J. D., Brown, M. A. E., Williams, R. E. O., Rippon, J. E. & Jevons, M. P. (1958). Spread of staphylococci in a surgical ward. Brit. med. J., i, 607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar