Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia: beware of the dog!

We report the case of a 35-year-old quadriplegic male with confirmed Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia, manifesting with acute hypoxic respiratory failure on a background of chronic hypercarbia requiring mechanical ventilation in intensive care. B. bronchiseptica are known to colonise the upper respiratory tracts of many mammals but are very rarely responsible for acute respiratory tract infections in humans.A review of the literature suggests preponderance for immunocompromised or immunoincompetent patients who have experienced environmental exposure to colonised animals. The disease pattern of B. bronchiseptica infection is non-uniform and while it is rarely described as a commensal or colonising organism, very few case reports describe severe respiratory infections.