Staphylococcus aureus colonization and infection in newborn nursery patients
J. J. Gooch and E. M. Britt
The correlation between Staphylococcus aureus colonization and infection
among newborns was studied during a four-year period. Of the 9,423 newborns
cultured, 24% were colonized at the time of discharge and in 2% of these an
infection developed, whereas only 0.2% of the noncolonized newborns
experienced a staphylococcal infection. The weekly colonization rates
ranged from 0% to 62%, and outbreaks of infections (two or more concurrent)
occurred periodically when the colonization rates ranged from 11% to 57%.
Colonization rates per se did not serve as an indicator of an actual or
potential outbreak of infection. Instead, the occurrence of two or more
concurrent cases of staphylococcal infection or presumptive evidence of an
outbreak seems to be a more reliable indicator than colonization
monitoring.
