IV. Procedures Applicable to Sampling of the Environment for Hospital Use

Abstract

Studies on the relation of the environment to hospital-acquired staphylococcal disease need more quantitative rather than qualitative studies. Some routes of transmission can presently be evaluated only by qualitative, others be semi-quantitative and still others, notably air, by quantitative techniques. Fomites and surfaces can be sampled by swab, Petri dish, and more sophisticated techniques. Bacteria and viruses can be removed from air by liquid impinger samplers. Bacteria in air can be sampled by many devices including the open Petri dish, the sieve and Andersen samplers, and slit samplers having a time-concentration relationship. Slit devices are the samplers of choice for most hospital work.