Isolation of a Bordetella avium-like organism from a human specimen.

The isolation of a strain of Bordetella for which the species could not be determined but which most closely resembled Bordetella avium is reported. The strain was isolated in mixed culture from an ear swab of a patient suffering from chronic otitis media. The bacterium showed the typical biochemical reactions of Bordetella avium but differed in antimicrobial resistance pattern, protein and fatty acid composition, and DNA-DNA and DNA-rRNA hybridization. Further studies will clarify the taxonomic status of this strain within the Bordetella-Alcaligenes ribosomal RNA cluster.