Isolation of Globicatella sanguinis from a neonate with sepsis using BacT/Alert and VITEK-2 compact system at Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, northwest Nigeria: A case report

Neonatal sepsis is a significant cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, predominantly in developing countries. The bacterial causes of neonatal sepsis and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are however dynamic. Globicatella sanguinis is a streptococcus-like bacterial agent capable of causing serious infection in humans that has been rarely isolated from clinical samples, and is an uncommon pathogen that is difficult to identify. Identification based on phenotypic methods alone can misidentify many bacteria, and this may affect precise antibiotic treatment. We report the isolation of a rare bacterial pathogen, G. sanguinis from a three-hour-old preterm female neonate (28 weeker, extremely low birth weight) with sepsis and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) at Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, Nigeria, and to the best of our knowledge, one of the very few reported cases all over the world. Blood sample was aseptically collected from the neonate and cultured on BacT/Alert automated system (BioMérieux, Mercy-Etoile, France). A rare bacterium was identified from a positive culture, and in vitro susceptibility test using VITEK-2 compact system showed the isolate to be sensitive to gentamicin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime. Despite antibiotic treatment and other standards of care, on day 9 of admission, the baby developed apnea and all resuscitative measures proved abortive. In a developing country like Nigeria where child mortality due to infection is high, the inclusion of advanced technologies such as improved VITEK-2 compact system, PCR, MALDI-TOF MS, and next-generation sequencing, could play a significant role in its reduction.