Staphylococcal bacteremia and hexachlorophene bathing. Epidemic in a newborn nursery
P. J. Hyams, G. W. Counts, E. Monkus, R. Feldman, L. Kicklighter and C. Gonzalez
An outbreak of staphylococcal bacteremia in healthy, full-term neonates
occurred in the newborn nursery at a large county hospital not employing
prophylactic hexachlorophene bathing. Seven infants had staphylococcal
bacteremia and one had omphalitis. Two of the three isolates obtained for
phage typing were type 86, and the other was 3c/71. Staphylococcal
colonization rate in the nursery was 64% when the outbreak was recognized;
86% of these isolates were type 86. No predominant phage type was isolated
from nursery personnel. The outbreak followed a six-month preliminary study
that showed a rise in staphylococcal colonization rate from 2.2% with
hexachlorophene bathing to 67% with a nonhexachlorophene-containing
preparation. In a community survey of infants born during the two months
prior to the epidemic, seven of eight babies with lesions were infected
with Staphylococcus aureus type 86.
