Playing with bugs

Toys are a health threat to sick babies, a new study suggests. Over four
weeks, Colin Morley and his colleagues at the Royal Women’s Hospital in
Melbourne, Australia, were able to grow bacteria from nearly all the toys
belonging to newborns in intensive care. Five of the babies became ill after
being infected with the same bugs found on their toys. It’s not clear whether
the toys were the direct cause of the illnesses, but Morley reports in the
online journal Pediatrics (vol 106, p e18) that while cots are cleaned
regularly, toys are being left to harbour bacteria.