Susceptibility of Haemophilus aegyptius to trooleandomycin: lack of taxonomic value

Two hundred and nine strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus aegyptius were screened for trooleandomycin susceptibility. Four strains were shown to be sensitive to the drug. Of these four, two were Haemophilus aegyptius (ATCC 11116, NCTC 8134), and the other two were Haemophilus influenzae biotype I (1-605) and IV (80-212. One strain of Haemophilus aegyptius (NCTC 8135) was resistant to trooleandomycin. Restriction enzyme assays and DNA homology were carried out to establish relationships between the strains. It is concluded that trooleandomycin susceptibility has no taxonomic value to differentiate between Haemophilus aegyptius and biotype III Haemophilus influenzae.