&NA;An unusual case of discitis in a 60‐year‐old, insulin‐dependent, diabetic man is presented. Radiographs of the lumbar spine demonstrated changes associated with infection of the intervertebral disc space. Cultures from the L5‐S1 disc space grew the microorganism designated by the Centers for Disease Control as Group Ve‐1, an organism that has had questionable clinical significance in the past, and has not been reported as a pathogen in an intervertebral disc space. (Neurosurgery25:655‐657, 1989)