A survey of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in a neonatal ward in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

The nasal carriage rate of Staphylococcus aureus among maternal-infant pairs was 18% compared with 39% among hospital staff in Ile-Ife, Nigeria during a 12-week survey. Of the newborns, 46% tested positive compared with 26% of their mothers. The S. aureus phage types recovered were predominantly of the group III type (38%); however, 28% of the strains isolated were non-typable. All the S. aureus strains were resistant to penicillin, 84% to tetracycline, and 35 and 24% were resistant to streptomycin and chloramphenicol, respectively. Altogether 19% of the strains tested were resistant to methicillin.