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Glite Dictionary
🦠 A respiratory bacteria 🦠 A blood infection bacteria
Bordetella holmesii

Bordetella holmesii

8.8
A type of bacteria that can infect the blood and cause sepsis in people with weak immune systems
  • noun
  • Specialized
: Bordetella holmesii
  • Patients with weakened immune systems are at risk of Bordetella holmesii infections.

Examples

  • Doctors identified Bordetella holmesii as the cause of the sudden onset of sepsis.

  • Immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk for Bordetella holmesii bacteremia.

  • After her transplant, the patient was diagnosed with a Bordetella holmesii infection.

  • The Bordetella holmesii bacterium can lead to severe infections.

  • After her transplant, the patient was diagnosed with a Bordetella holmesii infection.

  • Doctors identified Bordetella holmesii as the cause of the sudden onset of sepsis.

  • Patients with weakened immune systems are at risk of Bordetella holmesii infections.

Surface Forms

Bordetella holmesii singular
Bordetella holmesiis plural

Morphology

Bordetella + holmesii

This is a Latin binomial (scientific species name) where the second element is an eponym ('holmesii') and the name does not transparently convey the medical properties. Even if a learner knew that 'Bordetella' is a genus label, that knowledge does not allow a B1 learner to infer the specific meaning (a bacterium that can cause bloodstream infections and sepsis), so the overall sense is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Bordetella holmesii may come from two scientists' names: Bordetella after Bordet and holmesii after Holmes. Picture the same tiny germ getting into the blood and causing a 'blood infection' called 'sepsis', and the name helps doctors remember this risk, especially in people with a weakened immune system.