Epidemiologic application of a typing method for Staphylococcus epidermidis strains by the serum-soft agar technic

Using the serum-soft agar technic of Staphylococcus epidermidis typing, an epidemiologic study of pollution with S. epidermidis in the tuberculosis and pediatric wards of a hospital was conducted. Specimen samples were taken from 334 locations, including beds, bedspreads, pillows, doors and window knobs, chairs, tables, and incubators of premature infants. These were cultured on Staphylococcus 110 medium and the strains identified as S. epidermidis were obtained. Of the strains from both patients' rooms and the nurses' station in the tuberculosis ward a considerable number were of serotype 53, suggesting an interrelationship of this organism and these locations. In the rooms of newborns and premature infants in the pediatric ward, 55.5% of the strains of S. epidermidis isolated were of the serotype 53/408, indicating a high degree of pollution of these environments with these serotype strains.