Outbreak of Sphingomonas paucimobilis Septicemia in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

We describe an outbreak of Sphingomonas paucimobilis in 13 newborn infants with septicemia and septic shock. Fifteen available isolates were obtained from patients and distilled water. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that there was a cross-transmission of S. paucimobilis in eleven patients but these types were not the same the isolate obtained from the distilled water. The outbreak was terminated by taking appropriate control measures for infection and change of source of distilled water.