Bacillus cereus Bloodstream Infection in a Preterm Neonate Complicated by Late Meningitis

Central nervous system infections caused by Bacillus cereus have rarely been reported in infants. In this paper, the case of a 2-month-old low-birth-weight female who developed meningitis 45 days after resolution of a bloodstream infection (BSI) is described. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis results revealed that the patterns of both B. cereus isolates responsible for the acute meningitis and for the prior bacteraemic episode were closely related. Although the source of the infection from within the patient was not clear, it is suggested that the B. cereus BSI developed in the neonate was complicated by acute meningitis.