Actually, I'm facing the same problem here. It looks like a problem in DBD::mysql.
Are you using local $dbh->{AutoCommit} = 0 anywhere?
Update:
I've tracked this down to a problem with DBD::mysql (most recent versions) and DBI > 1.53. DBI 1.54 had some pretty big changes in it's internals and it looks like in some cases this causes problems when the AutoCommit flag is changed in DBD::mysql. I'm still not sure why, but it sporadically causes the above error you're seeing.
-- More people are killed every year by pigs than by sharks, which shows you how good we are at evaluating risk. -- Bruce Schneier
