Bacterial contamination in a modern operating suite. 3. Importance of floor contamination as a source of airborne bacteria.
The redispersal factor for bacteria-carrying particles from a contaminated floor was determined after mopping, blowing and walking activity. Walking gave the highest redispersal factor, 3.5 X 10(-3) m-1, which was three times higher than for blowing and 17 times higher than for mopping. The mean die-away rate for the bacteria-carrying particles used was 1.9/h without ventilation and 14.3/h with ventilation. It was calculated that in the operating rooms less than 15% of the bacteria found in the air were redispersed floor bacteria.
D000391:Air Microbiology; D000392:Air Movements; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009873:Operating Rooms