Airborne staphylococci in the surgical ward

The air of a subdivided surgical ward was sampled by the exposure of culture plates for 12 hr. periods 5 days a week. A number of ‘broadcasts’ of airborne Staphylococcus aureus were observed; many of these were of very short duration. A single person could be recognized as responsible for 22 of the 33 broadcasts; in all cases dispersal seemed to be from carrier sites rather than from infected lesions. There was little spread of the staphylococci between the 4 rooms of the ward. The frequency of nasal carriage of tetracycline-resistant S. aureus increased from 6·2% in patients examined during their 1st week to 13·2% in those examined in their 4th week in the ward; the rate for all S. aureus declined from 31·3 to 26·4%. It is suggested that the long-period exposure of culture plates for the collection of airborne staphylococci may be useful in monitoring some aspects of hospital hygiene.