VENTRICULAR SHUNT INFECTION AND MENINGITIS DUE TO BACILLUS-CEREUS

Non-anthrax Bacillus species are usually considered to be contaminants if found in clinical specimens. Only a few patients with systemic inf ections due to Bacillus cereus are reported. We present the case of a 18-month old boy with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) in the brainstem and obstructive hydrocephalus that required an outlying and subsequently a ventriculoperitoneal drain. Following contamination at the site of entry of the external drain, shunt infection and meningiti s with Bacillus cereus developed. Antibiotic treatment with vancomycin failed to eliminate the bacterium from the cerebrospinal fluid, so th e shunt system had to be removed. Explantation of the shunt and additi on of fosfomycin to the antibiotic regimen resulted in a complete cure of the infection.