Nasal Carrier Rate of Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococci

Abstract

<h3>Introduction</h3> It is a generally accepted fact today that the increase in the percentage of infections in hospitals caused by antibiotic-resistant staphylococci is largely due to cross infection in the hospitals with resistant microorganisms.^1-17It is also known that among hospital staff, nurses, and patients the percentage of carriers of pathogenic staphylococci in the pharynx and vestibulum nasi and the percentage of resistant strains in these carriers are increasing in relation to the period of their stay in hospital. However, there is only a little information in regard to the period that patients continue to carry the resistant staphylococci acquired in the hospital after discharge and how far transfer of these micro-organisms to house-hold contacts occurs. Dowling et al.¹⁸found in Chicago that the carrier rate for staphylococci in the nose and/or throat of patients, counting all staphylococci irrespective of their ability to produce pigment or hemolysis and