Salmonella species are a rare cause of bacterial meningitis, affecting mainly infants and the immunocompromised. Human salmonellosis associated with exotic pets has increased 1. CASE HISTORY A 27-day-old baby boy was seen with an 8-hour history of irritability and poor feeding. His birth had been uncomplicated and he had been well since. On examination, he was lethargic and febrile (38.78C) and had a diffuse erythematous rash. His fontanelle was normal. The white cell count was 12.5610 9 /L (neutrophils 66%). Sepsis was suspected and intravenous saline and cefotaxime were started. Cerebrospinal¯uid showed 1500 polymorphs and 100 lymphocytes/mL, no red cells, no organisms on the Gram stain, protein 1.4 g/L, and glucose 2.7 mmol/L (serum glucose 7.4 mmol/L). Ampicillin and gentamicin were added to cover Listeria monocytogenes. The next day, culture of the cerebrospinal¯uid grew a Salmonella species. Treatment was continued with cefotaxime alone. The baby lived with his parents and eight-year-old brother; no one had recently had diarrhoea and stool cultures from all four family members yielded no pathogens. The Laboratory of Enteric Pathogens in Colindale, UK, identi®ed the organism as Salmonella poona, a serotype found mainly in reptiles. Further questioning of the family revealed that they owned a green iguana (Iguana iguana), which was handled only by the father and not allowed out of its tank. The iguana was healthy but was excreting S. poona indistinguishable from the ®rst isolate. Environmental swabs taken in the family home grew S. poona from the vacuum cleaner and the iguana tank. The baby recovered clinically and completed a 22-day course of intravenous antibiotics. Repeat lumbar puncture
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