Maternal Colonization and Neonatal Sepsis Caused by Edwardsiella tarda

A case of neonatal sepsis caused by Edwardsiella tarda, a bacterium usually associated with freshwater ecosystems, is described. The infant's mother was immersed in lake water during the sixth month of pregnancy and had vaginal and gastrointestinal colonization with the same strain of E tarda as the infant at the time of delivery. This case suggests that maternal exposures to contaminated bodies of water during pregnancy may represent a risk to newborns.