Streptococcus gallolyticus is an uncommon cause of neonatal infections. We describe the first case of fulminant lethal neonatal sepsis due to S. gallolyticus reported in literature. Our patient was an extremely low birth weight premature infant born to a mother with prolonged rupture of amniotic membranes and chorioamnionitis. We also review the cases of neonatal S. gallolyticus infections reported in literature. Fifty-eight percent neonatal S. gallolyticus infections presented in the first week of life. Importantly, S. gallolyticus meningitis is more commonly reported with early-onset infections compared with group B streptococcal meningitis, which is more common with late-onset infections. Streptococcus gallolyticus should be included in differential for neonatal sepsis, particularly in the presence of meningitis in the first week of life. Most cases are sensitive to penicillin; however, cases of reduced sensitivity to penicillin have also been reported.

Received: 20 December 2021

Accepted: 28 January 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
04 February 2022

Article published online:
14 March 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA