Letters to the Editor

Indian Pediatrics 2001; 38: 562-563  

Flavimonas oryzihabitans Bacteremia in a Neonate

Flavimonas oryzihabitans is a Gram-negative rod that has rarely been implicated in human infections(1). To our knowledge early onset Flavimonas oryzihabitans bacteremia has not been reported in high-risk neonates.

A 22-year G3 P2 mother being treated for syphilis and gestational diabetes delivered triplets at 32 weeks’ gestation by a Caesarean section. She was an alcoholic and a heavy smoker with a history of deep vein thrombosis and renal failure. Her antenatal screening for HIV was negative. The birth weight and Apgar scores of the triplets were as follows-Triplet I: (1492 grams, 8,8), Triplet II: (1412 grams, 8,9), Triplet III: (1460 grams, 8,8). They required bag-mask ventilation only for a few minutes after delivery followed by continuous positive airway pressure support for 24 hours for minimal respirsatory distress.. The initial blood count and cultures did not indicate sepsis in triplet III and I. Blood cultures from triplet II, however, grew Flavimonas oryzihabitans, treated with gentamicin and cefotaxime for 2 weeks. Analysis of her cerebrospinal fluid did not indicate meningitis. Further hospital stay was uneventful for them.

Although, Flavimonas oryzihabitans has been isolated occasionally from the environ-ment, the source of human infection has not been well documented(2). It has been reported to be associated with pneumonia, bacteremia, peritonitis, subdural empyema, biliary tract infections in adults and hemorrhagic papular rash in children(1,3). Catheter colonisation by Flavimonas oryzihabitans was recently reported in an AIDS patient(2). The source of this bacteremia was traced to a synthetic bath sponge acting as a suitable environment for this organism(2). A recent report emphasizes that Flavimonas oryzihabitans should be included in the list of pathogens that can cause nonsocomial/community-acquired infections in immuno-compromised hosts(4). The rele-vance of this pathogen (sensitive to third generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides) in high-risk neonates is emphasized(3).

S.M. Jog,
S.K. Patole,
Department of Neonatology,
Kirwan Hospital for Women,
Townsville, QLD, 4817, Australia
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Kansouzidou A, Charitidou C, Poubrou E, Daniilidis VD, Tsagaropoulou H. Hemorr-hagic papular rash associated to Flavimonas oryzihabitans bacteremia in a child. Eur J Epidemio 2000; 16: 277-279.

2. Marin M, Garcia De Viedma D, Martin-Rabadan P, Rodriguez-Creixe Bouza E. Infec-tion of hickman catheter by pseudomonas (formerly flavimonas) oryzihabitans traced to a synthetic bath sponge. J Clin Microbiol 2000; 38: 4577-4579.

3. Lin RD, Hsueh PR, Chang JC, Teng LJ, Chang SC, Ho SW, et al. Flavimonas oryzi-habitans bacteremia: Clinical features and microbio-logical characteristics of isolates. Clin Infect Dis 1998; 24: 867-873.

4. Giacometti A, Cirioni O, Quarta M, Schimizzi AM, Del Prete MS, Scali. Unusual clinical presentation of infection due to Flavi-monas oryzihabitans. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1998; 17: 645-648.