DISTRIBUTION OF COAGULASE-NEGATIVE STAPHYLOCOCCI, INCLUDING THE NEWLYDESCRIBED SPECIES STAPHYLOCOCCUS-SCHLEIFERI, IN NOSOCOMIAL AND COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS

Four hundred and four coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated f rom 4905 urine specimens obtained from 4192 inpatients and outpatients . The distribution of the strains was as follows: 193 Staphylococcus e pidermidis (47.8%), 171 Staphylococcus saprophyticus (42.3%), 29 Staph ylococcus haemtolyticus (7.2%), 5 Staphylococcus warneri (1.2%), 3 Sta phylococcus schleiferi (0.7%), 2 Staphylococcus hominis (0.5%) and 1 S taphylococcus simulans (0.2%). All three Staphylococcus schleiferi str ains were isolated from inpatients: a 64-year-old female, a 68-year-ol d male and a 3-month-old male with colony counts of 468,000 cfu/ml, 32 4,000 cfu/ml and 764,000 cfu/ml respectively. These findings show that among coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus schleiferi, a newly described species of coagulase-negative staphylococci not previo usly reported as a uropathogen, may also cause hospital acquired urina ry tract infection.