Pantoea agglomerans septicemia in three newborn infants.

Pantoea infections are rare in humans, especially in neonates. Infections are usually associated with plant thorn injury or outbreaks traced to contaminated parenteral nutrition, intravenous anesthetics or packed erythrocytes. Between 1st of January 1994 and 1st of June 2005, 125 of 6383 patients (2%) in a 24-bed level III NICU became colonized with Pantoea agglomerans. Three newborns exhibited late-onset Pantoea agglomerans septicemia and died. Sporadic cases of Pantoea agglomerans septicemia have not been reported in neonatal intensive care so far.