Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in Nurses

A persistent nasal carrier of Staphlylococcus aiureus tends to harbour the same phage type of organism for many months (Williams, 1946: Rountree and Barbour, 1951 : Gould and MeKillop, 1954). At the same time it has been shown that nurses in hospital possess a high car- riage rate for penicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (Barber, Hayhoe, and Whitehead, 1949; Rountree and Thomson, 1952; Barber, Wilson, Rippon, and Williams, 1953), a condition not obtaining in the population at large. Furthermore, a high carriage rate for an epidemic or hospital strain has been observed in the noses of the nursing staff (Allison and Hobbs, 1947; Forbes, 1949; Barber et al., 1949). The question arises as to how the persis- tence of a single type in an individual is influenced by hospital conditions. An answer to this querv was sought by observing nurses during their train- ing period and subsequent employment on ward duties. A similar investigation was made by Rountree and Barbour (1951), and the present account provides further detail of the changes which take place under these circumstances.