Haemagglutinating and adhesive activity of Bordetella bronchiseptica treated with sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations of gentamicin.

The effect of sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations of gentamicin on the haemagglutinating activity of Bordetella bronchiseptica was studied. Gentamicin exerted dissimilar effect on the production of haemagglutinin to calf and dog erythrocytes. The drug significantly reduced the haemagglutinating titres of calf-negative strains with dog red blood cells while it caused only a slight decrease in the haemagglutinating titres of calf-positive strains with bovine erythrocytes. The results support the view that bovine haemagglutinin is an adhesin of B. bronchiseptica.