Bacterial infections in Lilongwe, Malawi: aetiology and antibiotic resistance

BMC Infectious Diseases

Table 4 Recovery of pathogens from clinical specimens^†

Specimen type	Positive (%)	No growth (%)	Contaminated (%)	Total
Blood	241 (12.7)	1479 (78.1)	174 (9.2)	1894
Cerebrospinal fluid	23 (15.2)	128 (84.8)	0	151
Joint fluid	13 (21.7)	47 (78.3)	0	60
Pus	86 (72.3)	30 (25.2)	3 (2.5)*	119
Bone	7 (58.3)	5 (41.7)	0	12

^†Repeat specimens were not done, and when an isolate was recovered from different specimens they were all counted. * Includes coagulase negative staphylococci and normal flora

ISSN: 1471-2334