NEONATAL SEPSIS AND MENINGITIS CAUSED BY PASTEURELLA MULTOCIDA

Abstract

Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is the most common cause of localized infections in both adults and children following a domestic animal bite or scratch, which rarely causes meningitis or sepsis. Although this infection is rare in neonates, when sepsis or meningitis occurs, the mortality rate reaches 20%, and among survivors, long-term health complications are often observed. Preventing close contact between infants and domestic animals, as well as maintaining proper hand hygiene at home, can help avoid this infection. For the first time in Lithuania, a case of P. multocida-induced sepsis and meningitis is described in a 17-day-old female neonate following nontraumatic contact with a domestic animal, i.e., without a bite or scratch.