Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> Background <italic>Pantoea septica</italic> is a recently recognized member of the genus <italic>Pantoea</italic> and is rarely implicated in human infections. Most reported cases worldwide have occurred in immunocompromised individuals. We report the first case of <italic>P. septica</italic> bacteraemia in an immunocompetent child and describe its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern to facilitate early recognition and appropriate management. Case Presentation: A 1-year-9-month-old boy presented with fever, chills, cough, and rhinorrhoea of 15 days' duration. Blood culture yielded a slow-growing, yellow-pigmented, non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacillus. Conventional biochemical testing suggested <italic>Pantoea</italic> spp.; however, species-level identification was difficult because of its close resemblance to members of the <italic>Klebsielleae</italic> tribe. The isolate was identified as <italic>Pantoea</italic> spp. by VITEK-2 (98% probability) and subsequently confirmed as <italic>P. septica</italic> by MALDI-TOF MS (score 1.99). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, interpreted using CLSI Enterobacterales breakpoints, demonstrated resistance to ampicillin, third-generation cephalosporins, and older β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations, with susceptibility to cefepime, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, and fluoroquinolones. Following escalation of therapy to meropenem, the patient showed rapid clinical improvement, and follow-up blood cultures were sterile. Conclusion This report highlights the pathogenic potential of <italic>P. septica</italic> to cause bloodstream infection in immunocompetent hosts. Accurate identification may require automated methods because conventional biochemical techniques may not reliably differentiate <italic>P. septica</italic> from other <italic>Pantoea</italic> species. Continued surveillance is warranted to better define its epidemiology, clinical spectrum, and antimicrobial resistance patterns. </p>