Enterobacter cloacae: an “ICU bug” causing community acquired necrotizing meningo-encephalitis

Enterobacter cloacae is a gram negative bacillus that is ubiquitous as a contaminant and a pathogen in adult, paediatric, and neonatal ICUs. Its transmission is almost exclusively nosocomial with community acquired infection reported rarely. We report a case of community acquired, rapidly progressive E. cloacae meningo-encephalitis in a neonate. A three-week-old term infant presented from home, having been discharged from hospital within two days of delivery. She rapidly progressed to multi-organ dysfunction. Initial CT of her brain showed evidence of severe hypoxic changes and herniation of the frontal lobes through the anterior fontanelle. Care was withdrawn 72 hours after admission. Post mortem examination confirmed E.cloacae meningo-encephalitis as a cause of her death. The baby had not been in a critical care environment at any time before admission, making it highly likely to have been a community acquired infection. Transmission of the organism may have been vertical as maternal transmission with intestinal colonization of neonates with E. cloacae has previously been reported. This case confirms that infection with E. cloacae should be included in the differential diagnosis of any severely ill neonate presenting from the community, and antimicrobial therapy should be optimized accordingly.