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NOCARDIA
AEROBE

WHAT IS NOCARDIA?

Nocardiosis is a rare infection caused by the Nocardia asteroides bacterium. This type of bacteria can be found in the soil and water of regions around the world. People may become infected with this bacteria when they inhale it or when the bacteria enter an open wound. 

  • Primary cutaneous nocardiosis manifests as cutaneous infection (cellulitis or abscess),
  • lymphocutaneous infection (sporotrichoid nocardiosis), or
  • subcutaneous infection (actinomycetoma).
  • Pleuropulmonary nocardiosis manifests as an acute, subacute, or chronic pneumonitis, usually in immunocompromised hosts

Disseminated nocardiosis may involve any organ; lesions in the brain or meninges are most common.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF NOCARDIA

1. LUNGS

  1. Chest pain when breathing (may occur suddenly or slowly)
  2. Coughing up blood
  3. Fevers
  4. Night sweats
  5. Weight loss

2. BRAIN

  1. Fever
  2. Headache
  3. Seizures
  4. Coma

3. SKIN

  1. Skin breakdown and a draining tract (fistula)
  2. Ulcers or nodules with infection sometimes spreading along lymph nodes

Reference: 

  • Bush, L. M., & Perez, M. T. (2015, October). Nocardiosis
    cdc.gov/nocardiosis/index.html
  • Hartley, M. (n.d.). Nocardiosis
    dermnetnz.org/bacterial/nocardiosis.html
  • Nocardiosis. (2013, January 28)
    cdc.gov/nocardiosis/index.html
  • Beaman BL, Boiron P, Beaman L, Brownell GH, Schaal K, Gombert ME. Nocardia and nocardiosis. J Med Vet Mycol 1992; 30(suppl1):317-31.
  • Beaman BL, Beaman L. Nocardia species: Host-parasite relationships. Clin Microbiol 1994; 7(2): 213-264.
  • Bell M, McNeil MM, and Brown JM. Nocardia species (Nocardiosis). 2014. http://www.antimicrobe.org/b117.aspExternal. Accessed April 9, 2015.
  • Brown-Elliott BA, Brown JM, Conville PS, et al. Clinical and laboratory features of the Nocardia spp. based on current molecular taxonomy. Clin Micro Rev 2006; 19:259-82.
  • Conville PS, Witebsky FG.  2011. Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Actinomadura, Streptomyces, and Other Aerobic Actinomycetes. p. 443-471. In Versalovic J,
  • Carroll KC, Funke G, Jorgensen JH, Landry ML, and Warnock DW (eds.), Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 10th ed. ASM Press, Washington, DC.
  • Lerner PL. Nocardiosis. Clin Infect Dis 1996; 22: 891-905.
  • McNeil MM, and Brown JM. The medically important aerobic actinomycetes: epidemiology and microbiology. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7(3):357-417.
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