The effect of amniotic fluid on bacterial growth in three population groups.

Eighty-five amniotic fluid from women of three racial groups in the third trimester of pregnancy were each tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans. Seventy-six per cent of fluid samples from white patients were inhibitory, while the corresponding figures for Africans and Indians were 33 and 52, respectively. Of 19 African fluid samples tested against E. coli only, one proved inhibitory.