This page has moved. Click here to view. Meningitis in Children Meningitis in the newborn. By and large the most common organism is group B strep and most of the disease reflects maternal colonization with group B Streptococci meningitis, mengitis. The risk of a child having sepsis in the newborn period increases with reports of a number of other factors, including maternal fever, prolonged rupture of membranes, premature rupture of membranes, being a low birth weight infant where they may not have received antibody from the mother which would be protective against these encapsulated bacteria.
Sepsis just presents in many ways in children.
But of course there are many dozens of alternative diagnoses. When you see seizures in the first week of life, they generally are something else. Here are the list of organisms that we have come to know and hate. Group B Streptococci, E. coli, a variety of gram negatives, always, always in large studies of neonatal sepsis you see Listeria monocytogenes appearing. It is not seen in all parts of the country.