Pathogenic bacteria isolated from infant feeding teats: contamination of teats used by illiterate and educated nursing mothers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria
I. A. Elegbe, E. O. Ojofeitimi, I. Elegbe and M. O. Akinola
We assessed bacterial contamination of infant feeding teats among nursing
mothers and identified pathogenic organisms that might be associated with
the incidence of diarrhea. The incidence of diarrhea among the infants of
illiterate mothers was fivefold that of infants of educated mothers. The
vast majority of the illiterate mothers poorly sterilized their infants'
feeding utensils. The most prevalent pathogenic organism isolated from the
teats was enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, followed by Staphylococcus
aureus. Unhygienic handling of feeds is an important factor in infantile
diarrhea.
