Staphylococcal Contamination of Mattresses and Blankets on a Surgical Ward under Nonepidemic Conditions

BLANKETS and mattresses used on hospital beds have been indicted as important reservoirs of staphylococci and have been incriminated as being responsible for crossinfection between patients and personnel.Blowers and Wallace1 stated that blankets are largely responsible for the transfer of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci from patient to patient and should be washed and sterilized afresh for each new occupant of the beds. Other workers have found that Staphylococcus aureus was easily isolated from almost every blanket on hospital beds, and sometimes the colonies were too numerous to be counted. Blankets in the ward linen closet were found to be bacteriologically indistinguishable . . .