Mode of transmission of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a burn unit and an intensive care unit in a general hospital.

  • 1 February 1972
    • journal article
    • Vol. 23  (2) , 309-12
Abstract
The transmission of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied in the burn unit and the intensive care unit of a 650-bed hospital. There was a tendency among patients in the burn unit to yield more than one type of P. aeruginosa, and several patients shared the same types at a particular point in time, suggesting cross-contamination among patients. Similar observations were made in the intensive care unit. Cultures from the hands of nurses caring for these patients yielded the same types of P. aeruginosa, suggesting the direct handling of patients by the nursing personnel to be the principal mode of transmission.