No evidence of nosocomial Pneumocystis carinii infection via health care personnel

Clusters of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised settings suggest person-to-person transmission. We examined a whether personnel in a ward for HIV-infected patients were carriers of P. carinii. None of 29 sputum samples from 19 personnel caring for HIV-infected patients had detectable amounts of P. carinii DNA, as determined by the two PCR methods used. Two of 26 personnel were found, by an immunofluorescence assay, to have serum antibodies for P. carinii. The results do not support the hypothesis that personnel represent major vectors or transient reservoirs for spreading P. carinii infection to immunocompromised hosts.