[An episode of hospital infection due to Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal department].

Enterotoxin-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was implicated in the induction of intrahospital infections in new-born babies. A total of 46 children and 4 adults (hospital personnel) were involved. Most of the subjects (82.6%) had median and light forms of gastroenterocolitis, and recovered following biological re-equilibration. In 17.39% of the cases the evolution was more severe due to advanced dehydration and secondary dissemination of the infection. Two children (approximately 4%) died. Factors that favored the dissemination of the infection were hygiene deficiencies and ignorance of functioning rules of materno-infantile units, and these included: admission to the hospital of working personnel with acute phenomena of enterocolitis; administration of sweetened solutions that were prepared without control and stored at room temperature; the "critical" point represented by the special room for "the accommodation" of the newborns, a "key-point" where infection was disseminated to other wards following dispersion of "adapted babies".