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is that modern therapeutic methods are able to save the lives of many who would
formerly have died. Thus nowadays the expectation of life for diabetics, for
various blood diseases, various sites of cancer, tuberculosis, conditions treated
by cortisone, X-rays, anti-histomines and so on are saving the lives of many
who would formerly have succumbed. These people are sometimes less able
to combat infections than others who are fully healthy. For instance some oi
them need repeated needle punctures every day.
The Transmission of Staphylococcus.
It has been shown recently that the way the staphylococcus travels from
person to person is not as was formerly thought by droplets sprayed from mouth
or nose whilst talking, coughing or sneezing; but by a different method1,
In carriers the organisms are present in the secretions in the front part of the
nose. The secretions flowing from the nose make the upper lip and surrounding
area heavily contaminated. From here the organisms are conveyed on fingers
or handkerchief or any other object to the skin of the hands, the clothing of the
person by day, and the bedding by night. When the moisture has dried the
particles are scattered into the air every time the person moves or the clothes
are disturbed or the bedding shaken, and in the act of washing hands and face.
The organisms float in the air and settle on other individuals in the neighbourhood.
In this way they reach the front part of the nose in other persons
and make them carriers in turn. But they also settle on the eyes of newborn
infants, on cuts and abrasions, or maybe breathed in to cause pneumonia, or
reach the body in some other way to cause septicaemia.
Even if the person wears a clean or sterile overall the organisms are still
scattered about in the air and settle on the objects around. There is thus
potential danger, especially with those strains which cause food poisoning when
staphylococcal carriers are about during the preparation of the dangerous
foods, such as cooked meats, gravies and creams. If everyone realised this
danger, the necessity would become evident for the rapid cooling of these foods,
and their storage preferably in refrigerators.
Get Rid of Them.
It would be a useful public health measure to eliminate the staphylococcus
altogether. This really means a direct attack on the places where the organism
lurks in the front part of the nose. Recently it has been shown that the
organism can be eliminated from the noses of carriers by rubbing inside a
preparation such as hibitane cream or neobacrin2. If this should prove a
simple and reliable method we would have achieved a notable advance in
preventive medicine.
1 Hare, R. and Thomas, C. G. A. (1956) Brit.Med.J. 2. 840.
2 Brit.Med.J. 2. 867.
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