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Demonstration of mother-to-infant transmission ofStaphylococcus aureus by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Published:
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Abstract

We assessed mother-to-infant transmission ofStaphylococcus aureus. Anterior nares swabs of 466 pregnant women, vaginal swabs of 305 of these women and anterior nares swabs of 305 6-day-old infants were examined for the presence ofS. aureus. The results showed that 7.5% of the vaginal swabs from the pregnant women and 10.1% of the anterior nares swabs from the infants were positive forS. aureus. Six of the 466 pregnant women (1.3%) and 12 of the 305 infants (3.9%) carried methicillin-resistantS. aureus (MRSA) in the anterior nares site, but none of the vaginal specimens were positive for MRSA. Analysis ofSmaI digested chromosomal DNA analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) showed that methicillin-sensitiveS. aureus (MSSA) strains obtained from four pairs of pregnant women and their infants were completely identical, which strongly suggesting mother-to-infant transmission ofS. aureus.

Conclusion

This study elucidated the prevalence ofS. aureus carriage among pregnant women and newborn infants. Mother-to-infant infection ofS. aureus was demonstrated phenotypically and genetically. PFGE is a useful tool to detect infection routes including mother-to-infant-infection.

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Abbreviations

EtBr :

ethidium bromide

MIC :

minimal inhibitory concentration

MRSA :

methicillin-resistantS. aureus

MSSA :

methicillin-sensitiveS. aureus

PCR :

polymerase chain reaction

PFGE :

pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

TSST-1 :

toxic shock syndrome toxin-1

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-Ku, 236, Yokohama City, Japan

    T. Mitsuda, S. Fujita & S. Yokota

  2. Department of Microbiology, Yokohama City Institute of Health, 1-2-17 Takigashira, Isogo-Ku, 235, Yokohama, Japan

    K. Arai

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  1. T. Mitsuda
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  2. S. Fujita
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  3. S. Yokota
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Mitsuda, T., Fujita, S., Yokota, S. et al. Demonstration of mother-to-infant transmission ofStaphylococcus aureus by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Eur J Pediatr 155, 194–199 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01953937

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01953937

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