BORDETELLA-PERTUSSIS AS A CAUSE OF CHRONIC RESPIRATORY-INFECTION IN AN AIDS PATIENT

A 60-year-old heterosexual man with AIDS was admitted to hospital with dyspnea, a severe paroxysmal non-productive cough of two months' dura tion, low-grade fever and exhaustion. Bordetella pertussis was culture d from a bronchoalveolar lavage specimen. After erythromycin therapy ( 500 mg q.i.d. for two weeks) all respiratory symptoms resolved progres sively over a four-week period. Bordetella pertussis should be added t o the long list of pathogens that may cause respiratory disease in per sons with HIV infection.