Fatal pneumonia in a newborn caused by Oerskovia xanthineolytica

What is it about?

A premature child was born at 34–35 weeks gestation with aspiration of amniotic fluid. Rupture of the amniotic sac occurred 3 day before delivery. Two days later the child died. From the lungs, after 24 hours cultivation on blood agar, a pure culture of small yellow pigmented colonies was isolated. Gram stain revealed Gram-positive rods. The strain was catalase positive and motile. The phospholipid and fatty acid compositions were studied. Final identification was done using ApiCoryne (BioMerieux) and the strain was proved as Oerskovia xanthineolytica. Disk diffusion and E test were performed for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The strain was susceptible to vancomycin, imipenem and cotrimoxazole.

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Why is it important?

This report demonstrates the first fatal case with isolation of this microorganism from the lungs of newborn.