"Cloud" health-care workers

Certain bacteria dispersed by health-care workers can cause hospital infect ions. Asymptomatic health-care workers colonized rectally, vaginally, or on the skin with group A streptococci have caused outbreaks of surgical site infection by airborne dispersal. Outbreaks have been associated with skin c olonization or viral upper respiratory tract infection in a phenomenon of a irborne dispersal of Staphylococcus aureus called the "cloud" phenomenon. T his review summarizes the data supporting the existence of cloud health-car e workers.