A bacteriological investigation of wound infections in Rarotonga, Cook Islands

A bacteriological investigation of 195 infected skin lesions, and 248 nose, throat and skin swabs has been carried out on the Island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Coagulase positive staphylococci have been found in the majority of lesions, but the proportion of penicillin resistant strains is much lower than it is in New Zealand which is the one country in constant communication with these Islands. A few strains with a wider antibiotic resistance were found in the hospital environment. It was found that the carrier rate of nasal staphylococci was low. The incidence of penicillin resistant nasal strains was higher in hospital staff than in the general population. β-haemolytic streptococci (Group A) were isolated from lesions almost as frequently as staphylococci and in most lesions these organisms occurred together. Group A streptococci were found to be present frequently on body surfaces and were isolated from flies which had been feeding on sores and the chance of every superficial abrasion becoming infected with Group A streptococci is therefore great. Toxigenic strains of C. diphtheriae (mitis type) were isolated from one-third of the lesions, but they did not appear to be the primary pathogen. Two strains were isolated from the throat and skin of healthy children and a third was isolated from the throat of a baby with faucial diphtheria.