ABSTRACT
The incidence of early onset neonatal sepsis is said to have dramatically declined over the past 10 years, attributed to increased use of antenatal antibiotics and more effective management of premature rupture of membranes (Bedford-Russell 1996). Infection still remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period due to the increase in late onset nosocomial infection. This increase is due, in part, to the improved survival of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, with its associated long stay in hospital, immunological incompetence and the increased usage of parenteral nutrition through central venous catheters (Philip 1994; Greenough 1996; Avila-Figueroa et al. 1998). Nosocomial infection is a common, costly and clinically important measure of outcome and may be a valuable indicator of performance in neonatal intensive care (Fowlie et al. 1996).
