USE OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION IN REDUCTION OF RESPIRATORY CROSS INFECTIONS

Abstract

Following the installation in this hospital of a new operating room equipped with a battery of eight Westinghouse Sterilamps and an air changing system, counts were made of the bacteria in the air of this room. Either of these agents reduced the number of air borne bacteria. and the combination of the two was very effective.¹ This suggested the possibility of using similar means to reduce the number of cross infections in the infant ward. In order to test the efficacy of various barriers to the spread of air borne bacteria, an experimental room was set up in the laboratory.² It consisted of a series of open door cubicles the entrances of which were 4 feet wide and 6 feet 2 inches high. Around the cubicle entrances, General Electric Ultraviolet Germicidal lamps (15 watt, T8) were mounted with baffles in front and behind them so that a narrow