An outbreak of conjunctivitis caused by multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a Brazilian Newborn Intensive Care Unit

We report an outbreak of conjunctivitis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa involving seven infants admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Uberlândial Federal University Hospital between March and September 2001. Three infants developed systemic complications (01 sepsis and 02 pneumonias). Ten isolates were obtained from conjunctival cultures and all were resistant to ceftazidime and aminoglycosides. Fast identification of the organism and treatment with imipenem were important in containing the outbreak of P. aeruginosa.