Staphylococcal Infections in Newborn Infants

Abstract

Introduction We recently described the bacteriologic investigation and control of an of staphylococcal infections associated with the newborn nurseries of The University Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.1In this epidemic, clinical manifestations were pyoderma, breast abscesses in nursing mothers and infants, and, in a few instances, more serious infections, such as cellulitis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia, and septicemia. More than 50% of the infants admitted to the nurseries during the developed evidence of infection, and breast abscesses occurred in approximately 30% of the nursing mothers. A single strain of Staphylococcus pyogenes, bacteriophage Type 42B/47C/44A/52/80/81 * was isolated from all lesions. This organism was sensitive to bacitracin, neomycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, carbomycin, novobiocin, and oleandomycin † and resistant to penicillin, streptomycin, and the tetracyclines. Practically all infants who were in the nurseries during the epidemic, whether or not they were clinically ill, showed nasal colonization with the epidemic strain at the time of