Environmental Antimicrobiosis in a Nursery

Abstract

Environmental antimicrobiosis in the control of hospital cross-infections has frequently been considered and occasionally tried. It was of equivocal, value until Elek and Fleming¹ reported their use of 2-6-dimethoxyphenol penicillin (BRL 1241; 2,6-DIMOP penicillin).* They thought the nose was the main site of staphylococcal multiplication and the reservoir of hospital-acquired staphylococci. They reasoned that the cycle of hospital staphylococcal spread in a nursery population could be interrupted by preventing the nasal multiplication of staphylococci. They therefore sprayed 2,6-DIMOP penicillin into the nursery air: colonization of the newborn infants by pyogenic staphylococci was largely prevented. A biologically active derivative of 6-amino-penicillanic acid, 2,6-DIMOP penicillin is "staphylococcal resistant," i.e., resistant to staphylococcal penicillinase. Only rare strains of pathogenic staphylococci have been described which are resistant to 2,6-DIMOP penicillin. In vitro resistant staphylococci have been developed only with difficulty and are of questionable clinical significance (see below). A nursery outbreak of