Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteraemia in immunocompetent children

Ochrobactrum anthropi is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients but infections with the bacterium have very rarely been documented in normal hosts. We report the characteristics of O. anthropi bacteraemia in 11 immunocompetent children, aged 2 months to 7 y, hospitalized in a general hospital during a 5-y period. Children commonly presented with fever, non-specific respiratory or gastrointestinal manifestations, leukocytosis and neutrophilia and had a rapid recovery, even when they did not receive a specific treatment. In 10 cases positive blood cultures were obtained on admission and in all cases subsequent cultures were sterile. In conclusion, O. anthropi may cause bacteraemia in immunocompetent hosts, although further studies are required to clarify whether these isolates represent pseudobacteraemia or whether O. anthropi is a potential pathogen of low virulence.