SECOND EDITION
RR Rao MD MAMS (FICpath)
Professor and Head Department of Microbiology Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
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Textbook of Microbiology for Nursing Students
First Edition: 2005
Reprint: 2007
Second Edition: 2014
9789350909775
Printed at
5Dedicated to
My Grandfather
(1914–2004)
Late Sri B Harisarvothama Rao
7Preface to the Second Edition
During the last 5 to 10 years, the importance of microbiology has been well recognized by all categories of healthcare personnel. With many hospitals undergoing for accreditation by the National Board of Hospitals (NABH), more stress is on infection control. At present, many known pathogens causing infections in humans both in the hospital and at the level of community are showing increasing resistance to various antibiotics including the Penicillins and Cephalosporins. Apart from increasing resistance, new organisms are emerging as pathogens, which were earlier considered as commensals or harmless microorganisms. Therefore, it is becoming more important to take adequate steps to prevent or control the infection rather than treating it after getting established. Infection control committee is playing an important role in many hospitals. Keeping in view of these changing trends and also taking into the consideration of experts' constructive comments on the first edition of this book, it has been decided to revise the Textbook of Microbiology for Nursing Students by expanding its frontiers by including more information to the existing one. Accordingly, several topics have been expanded or introduced freshly. In addition to the chapters like ‘Hand Hygine’ and ‘Biological Waste Management’, a new chapter on ‘Infection Control Guidelines’ has been included.
I am glad that the students of nursing profession as well as faculty from all over the country welcomed the first edition of this book and appreciated the simplified principles of microbiology. I am of the opinion that with the same zeal, they would also welcome this revised second edition and expand their knowledge of microbiology.
I thank all those experts who spared the time to review the first edition of this book and provided valuable comments. As far as possible, their suggestions have been implemented in this second edition. I hope, the students of nursing profession will be comfortable in reading the second edition and practice the implementation of principles of microbiology in preventing the infection and/or in controlling it.
RR Rao
89Preface to the First Edition
Microbiology is relatively a new specialty of medicine. But, during the last 50 years or so, it grew tremendously and made a strong impact on not only among the medical professionals but also on the public health. The importance of infectious diseases has been widely recognized and a number of textbooks written by distinguished authors are available that provide vast information, which is being updated continuously. Considerable importance has been given to microbiology in the curriculum of medical and paramedical courses to understand, to diagnose, to treat, and to control a variety of infectious diseases both communicable and non-communicable. However, a student nurse entering the nursing profession is in dilemma that how much information is needed for her/him to remember and practice microbiology in routine. Moreover, a first year nursing student is supposed to undergo training in as many as ten subjects related to nursing along with microbiology. To lessen the burden on the students and to emphasize on only the most practicable fundamentals of microbiology, an attempt has been made in this book to abridge the available information, stressing more importance on proper collection and transportation of microbiological specimens, adequate knowledge on disinfection and sterilization procedure, management of biological waste, and last but not least, the role of “Hand Hygiene”. Detailed descriptions of morphological, cultural and biochemical characters of various microorganisms and their complex antigenic structures are simplified, as they are not necessary for a student of nursing. Instead, adequate importance has been placed on the clinical signs and symptoms of various infectious diseases for their early recognition, so that nursing staff are geared up to apply appropriate preventive measures to curtail the spread of the infection, either in the hospitals or in the community. This textbook has been divided into different sections without discontinuity, in order to make the student feel comfortable and develop interest to read and remember the contents of the respective sections. Detailed discussions on some topics have been avoided keeping in view of their rare occurrence in day-to-day practice. An attempt has been made to provide more illustrations to create a visual impact that creates a long-lasting memory.10
I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my professor and mentor Dr CS Bhaskaran who always encouraged me in all my attempts. I also express my respects to my teachers like Prof Dr KC Agarwal, Prof Dr RC Mahajan, Prof Dr NK Ganguly, Prof Dr SN Saxena, under whom, I had the opportunity to work and improve my skills and knowledge in this specialty.
RR Rao