Pulmonary Nocardia: A Single-center Experience

Nocardiosis is an uncommon but serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive branching filamentous bacilli. It belongs to the Actinomycetales order and is a weak acid-alcohol-fast bacterium. It inhabits the telluric environment where they contribute to the degradation of organic matter and its transmission generally occurs through inhalation or direct inoculation of spores [1,2]. Seven species of the genus Nocardia are considered as human pathogens (N. asteroides, N. brasiliensis, N. otitidis-caviarum, N. farcinica, N. nova, N. transvalensis, and N. pseudobrasiliensis) and at least eleven additional species have been linked to disease in humans. N. farcinica, a less common but more virulent specie than N. asteroides, and more prone to disseminated forms. N. pseudobrasiliensis often leads to invasive disease and N. brasiliensis usually causes a disease limited to the skin.