Staphylococci in Hospital-Acquired Infections

Hospital-acquired infections due to antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus present a problem that has become increasingly serious in recent years. It has been demonstrated by numerous investigators that antibiotic-resistant staphylococci have become well established in the hospital community.¹They are harbored by some of the carriers of staphylococci among the professional personnel (especially members of the medical and nursing staffs); they may colonize some of the patients who, in turn, become nasal carriers; and they sometimes may be found in the physical environment of the ward or nursery, for example in the dust or air, or on bedding or furniture. The established "hospital" strains, subject to ready dissemination within the confines of the institution, thus represent a reservoir which serves as a constant, potential source of cross infection. Bacteriophage typing has shown that in the majority of instances the staphylococci that are responsible for cross infection in any one