The ica operon and biofilm production in coagulase-negative Staphylococci associated with carriage and disease in a neonatal intensive care unit.

ABSTRACT: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are a major cause of sepsis in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We evaluated the hypothesis that the ica operon and biofilm production are associated with CoNS disease in this setting. CoNS associated with bacteremia or blood culture contamination and from the skin of infants with CoNS bacteremia or healthy controls were obtained during a prospective case-control study on a busy NICU. A total of 180 strains were identified, of which 122 (68%) were Staphylococcus epidermidis and the remainder were S. capitis (n = 29), S. haemolyticus (n = 11), S. hominis (n = 9), S. warneri (n = 8), and S. auricularis (n = 1). The presence of the genes icaA, icaB, icaC, and icaD was determined by PCR, and biofilm production was examined using qualitative (Cong

SUBMITTER: de Silva GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC153361 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature