Bacillus sphaericus bacteraemia in children with cancer: case reports and literature review

Abstract In the period 1989–1999, Bacillus sphaericus was demonstrated to cause 12 out of 469 (2%) episodes of bacteraemia in children with cancer or receiving bone marrow transplant at G. Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy. Neutropenia was present in five episodes, six episodes, (all without neutropenia) were related to the presence of a central venous catheter, and one episode occurred in a patient with intestinal graft vs. host disease and gut colonization. All patients survived. Ciprofloxacin was the only drug active against all the isolated strains. Bacillus sphaericus represents a new cause of infection in the immunocompromised host, with low aggressiveness, but a peculiar pattern of antibiotic susceptibility.