title: Fatal meningoencephalitis due to Bacillus anthracis.
abstract: We report the first case of fatal anthrax meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong over the past 60 years. A 13 year-old boy presented with right lower quadrant pain, diarrhoea and progressive headache. Lumbar puncture yielded gram positive bacilli initially thought to be Bacillus cereus, a contaminant. He was treated with ampicillin and cefotaxime, but died 3 days after hospitalization. The organism isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid was later identified as Bacillus anthracis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kwong
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Que
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: So
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000881:Anthrax / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000175:diagnosis; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*