[Increased growth of chemotherapy-resistant hospital organisms through disinfection (author's transl)].

In addition to determinants of resistance to chemtoherapy, a resistance plasmid of the hospital strain of Prtoeus rettgeri from the Munich Hospital area also carries information on resistance to mercury ions. At the same time strains with this R-factor are more insensitive to phenylmercuric borate, the active principle of the widely used disinfectant Merfer. This significance of the widely used disinfectant Merfer. This significance of this resistance to disinfectants for the appearance of the local hospital strain of Proteus rettgeri is discussed. Moreover, the far-reaching risks of the selection of chemotherapy-resistant bacterial strains by disinfectants with reduced activity against bacteria resistant to chemotherapy are pointed out. Therefore, it is recommended to abandon the use of mercury as an active principle of disinfectants.