Nosocomial Infections

Hospitals are widely known as centers of medicine where sick people go with the expectation that they will get better. Unfortunately, there is the chance that these sick people may become infected as a direct result of their stay in the hospital. Infections that are acquired while a patient is in hospital are referred to as nosocomial infections; a term derived from nosos the Greek word for 'disease'. About 1/10 of patients acquire an infection as a direct result of being hospitalized.

Nosocomial infections can take the form of fungi, bacteria, or other organisms that are able to take advantage of an immune compromised host. Pathogens commonly enter a host through catheters, burn wounds, and inhalation. This webpage will focus on four common pathogens that cause nosocomial infections.

Pseudomonas aerugingosa Candidia albicans Legionella pneumophila Staphylococcus aureus

References:

http://www.cureresearch.com/mistakes/nosocomial.htm

http://www.bmb.leeds.ac.uk/mbiology/ug/ugteach/dental/tutorials/xinfect/intro.html

This website was created by: Virginia Hall, Katherine Price, Eric Roberts, and Jaclyn Thomas for Dr. Dustman’s 3510L Microbiology Lab.