Transfer of Micro‐organisms between Nurses and Patients in a Clean Air Environment

S ummary . A uni‐directional downflow (‘laminar’flow) ventilation system for a single‐bed patient‐room is described. It produced clean air at velocities as low as 0.12 m/sec (25 ft/min). Bacteriological studies on bed‐making done in the room showed that strains of Staphylococcus aureus carried on the nurses’external clothing were often transferred to the patients’bedclothes. This possible route of patient infection was almost eliminated when the nurses wore disposable plastic aprons over their dresses.