Abstract
The skin was cleaned with soap and warm water. Broth cultures of B. prodigiosus, B. pyocyaneus, B. coli, B. typhosus, B. paratyphosus, B. enteritides, Staphylococcus aureus and albus have been used as test micro-organisms. Roughly 90 to 95% of the number of bacteria applied to clean skin are rendered non-viable within 10 minutes. The coli-typhoid group are destroyed more rapidly than other bacteria. The endogenous Staphylococcus epidermis albus is removed slower than the air strains of the Staphylococcus albus.
When dirty or fatty skin is exposed to the same bacteria under similar conditions they are destroyed slowly, depending among other things, upon the thickness and impermeability of foreign fatty layer covering the skin. Viable bacteria can be determined several hours after being applied to such fat covered skin.
The finger-nail region is an exception to the self-disinfecting power of other skin area. The region under the finger-nail at the tips of the fingers always contains a large number of Staphylococcus epidermis albus. Test bacteria applied to this region remain viable for longer periods of time.
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