Problems of identification in clinical microbiology exemplified by pig bite wound infections

Our experience from attempts to identify bacteria isolated from boar bite/gore wounds is the background for a discussion of identification problems. Some organisms, although not very common or well-known, can be identified when using commercial kits or conventional methods, provided they are sufficiently characterized, as exemplified by Pasteurella aerogenes isolated from cases 1 and 2. Some organisms may be wrong ly identified, or not identified, by both commercial kits and conventional methods, unless seen by experienced microbiologists with knowledge of the original literature. This is exemplified by case 3, in which the final identification result was Bisgaard's taxon 15. Sometimes isolates cannot be identified even in reference laboratories and by using available identification tables and databases. In such cases, the organism involved may turn out to belong to a previously undescribed taxon. This is illustrated by the strains isolated from cases 4 and 5.