Changing pattern of neonatal septicaemia in an African city

The pattern of neonatal septicaemia in a large cosmopolitan African city is presented. Comparison of microorganisms isolated in the present study when compared with the results of previous reports from the same institution, show an increase in the incidence of klebsiella and pseudomonas septicaemia. In contrast, Escherichia coli infection has decreased appreciably from an incidence of 56.8% to 14.3%. Staphylococcus aureus has remained the dominant Gram-positive pathogen over the last decade while group B streptococcal (GBS) disease was rarely encountered. A significant finding was the emergence of gentamicin-resistant strains of E. coli and proteus species during the past 5 years. The overall incidence of neonatal septicaemia was 5.6/1000 livebirths and the mortality rate was 30.6%.