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Infections represent a serious health problem in neonates. Invasive Candida infections (ICIs) are still a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Infants hospitalized in NICUs are at high risk of ICIs, because of several risk factors: broad spectrum antibiotic treatments, central catheters and other invasive devices, fungal colonization, and impaired immune responses. In this review we summarize 19 published studies which provide the prevalence of previous surgery in neonates with invasive Candida infections. We also provide an overview of risk factors for ICIs after major surgery, fungal colonization, and innate defense mechanisms against fungi, as well as the roles of different Candida spp., the epidemiology and costs of ICIs, diagnosis of ICIs, and antifungal prophylaxis and treatment.

At the time of late-onset disease, mothers often have positive breast milk culture or group B Streptococcus bacteriuria, suggesting heavy maternal colonization., We retrospectively investigated mother-to-infant transmission of group B Streptococcus (GBS) in 98 cases of late-onset disease reported during 2007–2018 by a network in Italy. Mothers with full assessment of vaginal/rectal carriage tested at prenatal screening and at time of late onset (ATLO) were included. Thirty-three mothers (33.7%) were never GBS colonized; 65 (66.3%) were vaginal/rectal colonized, of which 36 (36.7%) were persistently colonized. Mothers with vaginal/rectal colonization ATLO had high rates of GBS bacteriuria (33.9%) and positive breast milk culture (27.5%). GBS strains from mother–infant pairs were serotype III and possessed the surface protein antigen Rib. All but 1 strain belonged to clonal complex 17. GBS strains from 4 mother–infant pairs were indistinguishable through pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. At least two thirds of late-onset cases are transmitted from mothers, who often have vaginal/rectal carriage, positive breast milk culture, or GBS bacteriuria, which suggests heavy maternal colonization.