Outbreak of Pseudomonas putida bacteraemia in a neonatal intensive care unit.

During the period of 9-27 March 2001, Pseudomonas putida strains were recovered from 10 neonates hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of Farhat Hached Hospital, Sousse (Tunisia). Seven neonates developed bacteraemia, and three had an umbilical catheter-related infection (without bacteraemia). A total of 18 isolates were cultured from blood (N = 11) and catheters (N = 7). These isolates were identified as P. putida by routine biochemical methods (API 20 NE, bioMérieux, Lyon, France). Restriction endonuclease DNA profiles were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using two endonucleases XbaI and SpeI. They yielded the same patterns showing that the outbreak was caused by a single clone of P. putida. Although the antiseptic solutions used to clean the umbilicus were implicated circumstantially as probable sources, they were not sampled and so this could not be confirmed.