Toxic shock syndrome. Incidence and survival of Staphylococcus aureus in unused tampons.

In a survey of 3912 unused tampons of the two leading Australian brands, all samples were found to be free from Staphylococcus aureus. Survival rates of a standard S. aureus strain and a strain isolated in the first reported Australian case of toxic shock syndrome were investigated, in parallel, in unused tampons of a brand associated with this particular case of illness. Despite the presence of nutrient in the inocula employed, the 10(6) populations of both strains were completely inactivated in 10 days. No significant difference was observed between the percentage survival of the strain isolated from a patient with toxic shock syndrome and the standard strain. In the presence of nutrient and serum, the 10(6) population of staphylococci was inactivated in 16 days.