Clinical and bacteriological study of normal and inflamed neonatal conjunctivae

Maternal vaginal and neonatal conjunctival flora were prospectively studied in a 117 mother baby pairs. The commonest isolates from both vaginal and conjunctival flora were E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella species. In 85% of mother-baby dyads, isolates from vagina and conjunctiva were similar. The commonest bacterial isolates in neonates with conjunctivitis were Staphylococcus aureus (37.4%), E. coli (27.9%) and Klebsiella species (19.3%). Maternal coitus, infections, rupture of membranes and baby's birth weight and sex did not influence the occurrence of conjunctivitis.