Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T08:42:02.628Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Staphylococcal disease and nasal carriage in the Royal Air Force

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

D. L. Miller ,
J. C. McDonald ,
M. P. Jevons  and
R. E. O. Williams
D. L. Miller
Affiliation:
Royal Air Force Medical Service and Public Health Laboratory Service
J. C. McDonald
Affiliation:
Royal Air Force Medical Service and Public Health Laboratory Service
M. P. Jevons
Affiliation:
Royal Air Force Medical Service and Public Health Laboratory Service
R. E. O. Williams
Affiliation:
Royal Air Force Medical Service and Public Health Laboratory Service
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. The nasal carriage of Staph. aureus and its relation to disease was studied in new recruits, boy apprentices and trained men of the Royal Air Force.

2. The proportions of Staph. aureus that were penicillin-resistant ranged from 15% in new recruits to 29% in trained men. In a school for apprentices the rate in new arrivals was 18%, and 23% for boys after the initial training. We were unable to find when these changes occurred.

3. 31% of strains isolated from septic lesions were penicillin-resistant and the rate was similar in all types of unit. Resistant strains were not apparently more virulent than sensitive strains.

4. About 1% of all strains isolated were resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin and much smaller proportions to chloramphenicol and erythromycin.

5. The phage-group distribution was similar for nasal and lesion strains, but nearly half the penicillin-resistant lesion strains belonged to Group I, and types 52A and 3C/55/71 were much commoner in lesions than in the nose.

6. Penicillin-resistant strains were more readily acquired and more rapidly lost than the sensitive strains.

7. Nasal carriers suffered from septic lesions more frequently than non-carriers, and those with a lesion tended to suffer further lesions. There was no evidence of cross-infection among bedroom contacts.

8. The proportion of penicillin-resistant strains rose from 30 to 40% between admission to and discharge from service hospitals. Resistant strains were not carried for long after discharge.

9. Penicillin treatment resulted in a fall in the total carrier rate and a rise in the resistance rate. Phage type analysis showed that this was mainly due to elimination of sensitive strains and recolonization with resistant strains.

We are greatly indebted to Miss Susan Green for the large amount of work that she did in the laboratory. We should like to thank also many Royal Air Force medical officers for their assistance, in particular Wing Commander E. S. Odbert, Wing Commander M. White, Squadron Leader M. Shearer and Flight Lieutenant A. J. Zuckerman; and the Director-General of the Royal Air Force Medical Services for permission to publish the results.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 60 , Issue 4 , December 1962 , pp. 451 - 465
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1962

References

Atkins, J. B. & Marks, J. (1952). The role of staphyloccal infection in best disorders of miners. Brit. J. industr. Med. 9, 296.Google Scholar
Barber, M. (1947). Staphylococcal infection due to penicillin-resistant strains. Brit. med. J. 2, 863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cruickshank, R. (1955). Penicillin: the problem of resistance. Practitioner, 174, 53.Google ScholarPubMed
Dowling, H. F., Lepper, M. H. & Jackson, G. G. (1953). Observations on the epidemiological spread of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci, with measurements of changes in sensitivity to penicillin and aureomycin. Amer. J. pub. Hlth, 43, 860.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goslings, W. R. O. & Büchli, K. (1958). Nasal carrier rate of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci. Arch. intern. Med. 102, 691.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gould, J. C. & Cruikshank, J. D. (1957). Staphylococcal infection in general practice. Lancet, ii, 1157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, J. C. & McKillop, E. J. (1954). The carriage of Staphylococcus pyogenes var. aureus in the human nose. J. Hyg., Camb., 52, 304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hare, R. & Ridley, M. (1958). Further studies on the transmission of Staph. aureus. Brit. med. J. i, 69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, J. C., Wilson, J. S., Thorburn, W. B., Holland, W. W. & Andrews, B. E., (1958). Acute respiratory disease in the R.A.F., 1955–7. Brit. med. J. ii, 721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, J. C., Miller, D. L., Jevons, M. P. & Williams, R. E. O. (1960). Nasal carriers of penicillin-resistant staphylococci in recruits to the Royal Air Force. Proc. R. Soc. Med. 53, 255.Google Scholar
Miller, D. L. (1962). The incidence of sepsis in the Royal Air Force. J. Hyg., Camb., 60, 467.Google ScholarPubMed
Miller, D. L., Galbraith, N. S. & Green, S. (1962). Nasal carriers of penicillin-resistant staphylococci in the general population. Brit. J. prev. soc. Med., 16, 203.Google Scholar
Moffet, M., Young, J. L. & Stuart, R. D. (1948). Centralised gonococcus culture for dispersed clinics. The value of a new transport medium for gonococci and trichomonas. Brit. med. J. ii, 421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Public Health Laboratory Service (1958). Deaths from Asian influenza, 1957. Brit. med. J. i, 915.Google Scholar
Roodyn, L. (1960 a). Epidemiology of staphylococcal infections. J. Hyg., Camb., 58, 1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roodyn, L. (1960 b). Recurrent staphylococcal infections and the duration of the carrier state. J. Hyg., Camb., 58, 11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shooter, R. A., Girling, J. A., Matthias, J. Q. & Williams, R. E. O. (1960). Staphylococcal infection in a medical ward. Brit. med. J. i, 1923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tulloch, L. G. (1954). Nasal carriage in staphylococcal skin infections. Brit. med. J. ii, 912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valentine, F. C. O. & Hall-Smith, S. P. (1952). Superficial staphylococcal infection. Lancet, ii, 351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wesley-James, O. & Alder, V. G. (1961). Staphylococci in septic fingers. J. Clin. Path. 14, 96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, R. E. O. (1959). Epidemic staphylococci. Lancet, i, 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, R. E. O., Jevons, M. P., Shooter, R. A., Hunter, C. J. W., Girling, J. A., Griffiths, J. D. & Taylor, G. W. (1959). Nasal staphylococci and sepsis in hospital patients. Brit. med. J. ii, 658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar