Infection With Mima Polymorpha : Fatal Meningitis and Septicæmia

SUMMARY Mima polymorpha is an unusual organism, which may take a coccal or bacillary form and may show mixed positive and negative Gram‐staining. Infection with M. polymorpha in a girl, aged 15 years, with subclinical chronic hepatitis, was manifested by septicaemia, a florid purpuric rash and meningitis. The patient died after seven days from persisting shock and oliguria. The diagnosis was suggested by the finding of an organism resembling Mima in a smear from the cerebro‐spinal fluid, and was confirmed by growing M. polymorpha in cultures from the cerebro‐spinal fluid and blood.