An outbreak of neonatal septicaemia by Enterobacter cloacae

Neonatal septicaemia (NS) is a haunting problem for neonatologists all over the world with considerable morbidity and mortality. The bacteriological profile of NS is constantly changing along with the source of infection. This clinical entity is more commonly associated with preterm and low birthweight babies. In the Indian scenario, members of Enterobacteriaceae continue to be a challenging problem for the sick and debilitated neonates. The recent literature review has revealed the significant role of species of the genus Enterobacter such as Enterobacter cloacae (E. cloacae), Enterobacter sakazaki, Enterobacter aerogenes in causing infections, especially in neonatal intensive care units (NICU)[1-7]. During a prospective study on NS for a period of one year, conducted in the Department of Microbiology in our institute, which is located in a rural area in Karnataka State, South India, an outbreak of septicaemia caused by E. cloacae was encountered in the NICU. The causative agents were found to be multipledrug resistant, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producer. 2. Materials and methods