Investigations of Staphylococcal Infection Acquired in Great Britain's Hospitals

Abstract

Research on hospital-acquired Staphylococcus infections in Britain have been concerned with determination of prevalence; with air-borne infection, and carrier-borne infection in surgical operating rooms; with dangerous staphylococcal carriers in the wards, and with contamination of fomites, particularly blankets. Methods of control tested include adjustment of operating room ventilation, antibiotic treatment of nasal carriers, and strict isolation-nursing of infected patients. Some phage types of staphylococci are more prone to produce epidemics than others, but no satisfactory method is yet available for predicting behavior of a strain of Staphylococcus in a hospital. Prevention of epidemics must be based on widespread realization of the infectious nature of staphylococcal disease.