1 Department of Neurosurgery
2 Department of Pediatrics, Mercy Hospital, 301 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Mycobacterium aquae, an ubiquitous scotochromogenic saprophyte, was repeatedly isolated from the cerebrospinal and ascitic fluid of a child with hydrocephalus and shunt implants. Recurrent fever, hepatomegaly, and signs of meningitis subsided when a shunt valve upon which the organism was demonstrated to be growing was removed. The child has been well and M. aquae has not been isolated since the removal of this valve and the initiation of antituberculous chemotherapy.