Neonatal Thoracic Infection with Mixta

The Erwiniaceae are a family of gram-negative, aerobic coliforms which are pathogenic to a number of plants. Recently described within this family are the Pantoea, strains of which have been associated with infection in immunocompromised children and post-surgical meningitis but also colonisation of a healthy human subject's gastrointestinal tract, as well as a variety of agricultural diseases. In 2015, a further clade of this family was established as the genus Mixta. In this case report, we describe infection of the pleural space and lung parenchyma with members of Mixta in a term neonate following an anastomic leak post-primary repair of congenital trache-oesophageal fistula, causing a respiratory and cardiovascular deterioration. Mixta were identified by MALDI-TOF. The child made a full recovery with use of intravenous piperacillin-tazobactam. The Mixta genus must be added to a list of opportunistic pathogens responsible for infection following perforation of the gastrointestinal tract.