Discussion 279 



who have been infected with them in hospital still carry them, unchanged, 

 after 4-5 years. 



Barber: I don't entirely agree with Dr. Hughes' statement; I agree 

 that babies go out of hospital about 80 per cent or more carrying the 

 strain, but we have managed to follow up a certain number of the babies 

 and they do seem to lose this penicillinase-producing strain very fre- 

 quently, and Ludham from Nottingham has done a very interesting 

 series showing that by the age of 5 years most of the babies have in fact 

 lost this strain. 



Hughes: Ours also are losing it. 



