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Host Factors in Whirlpool-Associated Pseudomonas aeruginosa Skin Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Steven L. Solomon
Steven L. Solomon*
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Hospital Infections Program, 1-5044, Centers for Disease Control, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
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Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis is the most common recognizable infectious disease occurring after use of whirlpools and hot tubs. The factors that affect the host's susceptibility to whirlpool-related infection are the anatomic and physiologic defenses of normal skin, the microecology of the skin surface, factors intrinsic to the individual host, and behavioral factors. The structural components of the skin maintain an environment at the skin surface that makes human skin an inhospitable habitat for microflora. However, natural and experimental models of P. aeruginosa skin infection suggest that immersion in whirlpools may negate many of the body's normal host defenses, especially the very low humidity at the skin surface. Transient colonization of skin with P. aeruginosa may lead to elaboration of toxins in vivo, resulting in the characteristic dermatitis.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 6 , Issue 10 , October 1985 , pp. 402 - 406
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1985

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