Maternal carrier rates of potentially pathogenic organisms in Bangkok, Thailand

One hundred and four healthy women delivering infants at the Royal Thai Army Hospital, Bangkok, were sampled by rectal swab for the laboratory isolation and identification of enteric bacteria of medical importance. Seventeen percent of these women had significant isolates as Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio species. Serotypically enteropathogenic Escherichia coli were also identified in 31% of the mothers.