Prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Bordetella holmesii, an Acinetobacter lookalike

We report a case of fulminant endocarditis on a prosthetic homograft aortic valve caused by Bordetella holmesii, which was successfully managed by surgical valve replacement and antibiotic treatment. B. holmesii, a strictly aerobic, small, Gram-negative coccobacillus, has been implicated as an infrequent cause of a pertussis-like syndrome and other respiratory illnesses. However, B. holmesii is also a rare cause of septicaemia and infective endocarditis, mostly in immunocompromised patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. holmesii endocarditis on a prosthetic aortic valve. Routine laboratory testing initially misidentified the strain as Acinetobacter sp. Correct identification was achieved by 16S rRNA gene and outer-membrane protein A (ompA) gene sequencing. Interestingly, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry also produced an accurate species-level identification. Subsequent susceptibility testing and review of the literature revealed ceftazidime, cefepime, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, piperacillin/tazobactam, tigecycline and colistin as possible candidates to treat infections caused by B. holmesii.