Bordetella holmesii

Introduction

Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Bordetella

Pathology

• associated with septicemia, endocarditis, meningitis, pericarditis, pneumonia, & arthritis, especially in immunocompromised patients, including patients with HIV1 infection or splenectomy

Laboratory

• Bordetella holmesii DNA
• Bordetella holmesii fumC gene

Complications

• no fatal cases of B holmesii have been reported; however invasive infections can cause substantial morbidity, even in previously healthy individuals

Differential diagnosis

• whooping cough

Management

• susceptibility to macrolides & 3rd-generation cephalosporins is poor

Notes

• named in recognition of biologist Barry Holmes

More general terms

• Bordetella