Abstract
Hospitalized neonates are commonly colonized soon after birth with Staphylococcus aureus. The majority of neonates do not develop infectious sequelae; however, premature neonates appear to be more susceptible to serious infections, such as pneumonia. We report a case of an extremely low birth weight infant who developed necrotizing pneumonia due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus (MRSA). The MRSA isolate from this neonate is identical to the strains that have been causing primarily community-associated skin and soft tissue infections. The severe course of this patient may be attributed to the presence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene, a well-known virulence factor leading to soft tissue and pulmonary infections.
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The opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
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McAdams, R., Mazuchowski, E., Ellis, M. et al. Necrotizing Staphylococcal Pneumonia in a Neonate. J Perinatol 25, 677–679 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211364
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211364
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