ASSOCIATION OF NEISSERIA-CINEREA WITH OCULAR INFECTIONS IN PEDIATRIC-PATIENTS

Twenty-two strains of Neisseria cinerea were recovered from paediatric patients over a 7-year period and forwarded to the Microbial Diseases Laboratory for biochemical identification and/or confirmation. Eighte en of these 22 strains (82%) were recovered from the eyes of very youn g children (less than or equal to 1 year), >50% occurring during the n eonatal period, The majority of eye isolates were involved in a variet y of ocular infections including orbital cellulitis, conjunctivitis, a nd eye discharge (most common); in four of the 13 instances (31%) wher e laboratory data was available, Neisseria cinerea was recovered in pu re culture, Neisseria cinerea isolates were often submitted to the Mic robial Diseases Laboratory as possible 'N. gonorrhoeae' or 'Neisseria species' due to problems resulting from the use of commercial assays o r unfamiliarity with the organism, These observations indicate that N. cinerea can produce eye infections in very young children, who presum ably acquire this organism vertically from the mother during birth, Ac curate identification of N. cinerea in such infants can preclude the s ocial trauma and possible legal ramifications which can initially resu lt from its misidentification as N. gonorrhoeae.