Neonatal meningitis caused by Escherichia coli in The Netherlands.

Bacteriological and clinical data on 132 children with neonatal meningitis caused by Escherichia coli were analyzed as a part of a larger study of bacterial meningitis undertaken between 1976 and 1982 in The Netherlands. Eighty-eight percent of the E. coli strains that were isolated carried the K1 capsular antigen. Most (80%) of these E. coli K1 strains were serotyped as O7, O18, O83, or were autoagglutinable. The male/female ratio of the infants was 1.64. In the majority of cases the onset of meningitis was at the end of the first week of life. The birth weight of 42% of the infants was less than or equal to 2,500 g, and congenital defects were present in 11% of the infants. Thirty-seven percent of the neonates had no recognized risk factors. The case fatality rate was 26%. Meningitis recurred in 8% of the survivors.