Pannonibacter phragmitetus, described from a Hungarian soda lake in 2003, had been recognized several decades earlier from human blood cultures as Achromobacter groups B and E.

We performed a polyphasic taxonomic study on isolates previously tentatively classified as Achromobacter groups B and E in comparison with the type strain of Pannonibacter phragmitetus, LMG 22736(T)=NCTC 13350(T). Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis suggested that strains of Achromobacter groups B and E belong to P. phragmitetus (similarity levels were higher than 99 %). DNA-DNA hybridization experiments and other genotypic and phenotypic analyses confirmed that the three taxa represent a single species. Whilst P. phragmitetus was described in 2003 from a Hungarian soda lake, it had been observed in human blood cultures in the UK since 1975. We present here the characteristics of the organism to facilitate its recognition in human clinical specimens and hence to determine its clinical significance.