Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization in infants with atopic dermatitis

Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus colonizes eczematous lesions in 78-100% of children and adults with atopic dermatitis (AD), whereas it is found on skin of healthy subjects in only 2-25% of cases. On unaffected skin of subjects with AD the bacterium has been isolated in 51-100% of cases.This paper examines rate and density of S. aureus colonization, using the swab technique and the contact plate method, respectively, on affected and unaffected skin in 72 infants with AD (age 3-24 months) and in a control group, to determine if there are significant differences with respect to what is reported for children and adults with AD.The main differences is that on unaffected skin of our infants with AD, bacterium colonization rate is significantly lower than on affected skin.