Acinetobacter and similar organisms in ear infections

Fifty-seven strains of acinetobacter-like organisms were isolated over a period of 26 months from the ears of 55 patients with acute or chronic otitis media, or otitis externa, and one strain was isolated in a survey of 50 normal ears. After comparison with eight reference strains, 32 of the isolates were identified as Acinetobacter anitratus, 22 as Acinetobacter Iwoffii, three as Moraxella spp. and one as Achromobacter sp. Analysis of the clinical findings suggests that although most of these organisms played little part in the disease process, a few strains were probably pathogenic in this situation.