Candida species and yeasts in mouths of infants from a special care unit of a maternity hospital.
A group of 99 babies born in hospital and subsequently transferred to the special care unit were examined for the presence of candidas orally. The rate of isolation rose from 6% neonatally to 53% on day 14 of life. Among infants who did not harbour the organisms when discharged from hospital, colonization rapidly took place so that 79% did so at 4 weeks of age, after which the rate fell to 50% at one year of age. The low incidence of clinical candidosis suggests that in these babies as in other groups C. albicans is normally a harmless commensal.
D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015003:Yeasts / Q000302:isolation & purification*