Bacillus cereus bacteremia in a preterm neonate

Bacillus cereus is an uncommon but potentially serious bacterial pathogen causing infections of the bloodstream, lungs, and central nervous system of preterm neonates. A case of bacteremia caused by B. cereus in a 19-day-old preterm neonate who was successfully treated with vancomycin, tobramycin, meropenem, and clindamycin is described. Implications for the diagnostic laboratory and clinicians when Bacillus species are detected in normally sterile sites are discussed, and the small numbers of infant infections proven to be due to this organism that have been described previously are reviewed.