Clinical manifestations of Bacillus cereus meningitis in newborn infants

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) meningitis sometimes occurs in patients with ri sk factors, which are associated with central nervous system (CNS) anomalie s, surgical or anaesthetic access to CNS. We observed two cases of B. cereu s meningitis in neonates without such risk factors. The clinical courses of both neonates were fulminant, and routine antibiotic therapy failed. Intra cranial haemorrhage was evident at autopsy. According to the previous neona tal case reports and our experience, we found that six of seven neonates we re premature babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, five died within a week of onset of the disease, and six had intracranial haemorrhag e. We speculate that B, cereus meningitis may occur in neonates, even witho ut any of the risk factors previously described in adult case reports, and that the clinical manifestations of the meningitis might be characterized b y the high incidence of intracranial haemorrhage and poor mortality.