Staphylococcal infection in subdivided general surgical wards.

The spread of Staphylococcus aureus was studied in three general surgical wards of identical design which consisted of a number of separate rooms, and the results were compared with those in the same unit previously studied, in subdivided wards elsewhere and in large open wards.The nasal carrier rate of Staph. aureus by patients rose during their stay in the ward, but its peak rate was comparable with minimum rates reported in other subdivided wards and was lower than in open wards.Staphylococcal sepsis rates were lower than in most open wards and were also much lower than those found previously in the same unit when overcrowding was common and each sex had its own ward.