Ocular infection caused by Psychrobacter immobilis acquired in the hospital

Abstract

The name Psychrobacter immobilis recently has been proposed for a group of chiefly psychrotrophic, aerobic, gram-negative, nonmotile, oxidase-positive coccobacilli commonly found associated with fish, processed meat, and poultry products. This article reports an ocular infection in a 12-day-old newborn who acquired the infection in the hospital, probably because of frequent manipulations in a closed aerated incubator. Also, this report intends to alert microbiologists to opportunistic infections that might be confused with infections caused by unusual oxidase-positive, gram-negative diplococci and to the isolation of P. immobilis from a human infection.