Actinomycosis is a chronic infection caused by Actinomyces species characterized by abscess formation, tissue fibrosis, and draining sinuses. The spectrum of infections caused by Actinomyces species ranges from classical invasive actinomycosis to a less invasive form of superficial skin and soft tissue infection. We present a review detailing all Actinomyces species isolated from breast infecti...

The importance of traditional medicine as a source of primary health care was first officially recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the primary Health Care Declaration of Alma Ata (1978) and has been globally addressed since 1976 by the Traditional Medicine Programme of the WHO. In Africa, traditional healers and remedies made from plants play an important role in the health of ...

Human dental plaque samples were screened for the presence of bacteriophage for Actinomyces viscosus and Streptococcus sanguis. None of the 336 samples yielded phage for S. sanguis, but 10 contained virulent actinomyces phage. A high host cell specificity was observed in that one phage isolate infected only A. viscosus T14V, eight phage isolates infected only A. viscosus MG-1, and one infected ...

Actinomyces rarely causes endocarditis with 25 well-described cases reported in the literature in the past 75 years. We present a case of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) caused by Actinomyces naeslundii. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of endocarditis due to this organism and the second report of PVE caused by Actinomyces.

Actinomyces sp. strain Chiba101, isolated from an arthritic leg joint of a pig raised in Japan, is a bacterium closely related to Actinomyces denticolens Here, we deciphered the complete genome sequence of Actinomyces sp. Chiba101 and the high-quality draft genome sequence of A. denticolens DSM 20671T.

We report a case of broncholithiasis secondary to pulmonary actinomycosis. Broncholithiasis has occasionally been reported in association with actinomycosis, but it is unclear if actinomycosis leads to lymph node calcification with subsequent erosion into the airway, producing a broncholith, or if an existing generic broncholith is secondarily colonized with Actinomyces. The patient had post-ob...

An 86-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus and severe decubitus at the sacral and calcaneal regions stemming from poor daily activity was diagnosed with pyometra perforation caused by Actinomyces. No foreign materials, including an IUD, were found inside the uterus. Pyometra is usually caused by Enterobacteriaceae or anaerobes derived from the gastrointestinal tract. The virulence of Actinomyc...

Recent advancements in chemotaxonomic and molecular biology-based identification methods have clarified the taxonomy of the genus Actinomyces and have led to the recognition of several new Actinomyces and related species. Actinomyces-like gram-positive rods have increasingly been isolated from various clinical specimens. Thus, an easily accessible scheme for reliable differentiation at the spec...

Actinomyces odontolyticus and A. viscosus are designated as group E and group F in the serological grouping of the Actinomyces.

Whole-organism protein electrophoresis was used to compare and group unidentified coryneform bacteria resembling Gardnerella vaginalis and various Actinomyces and Arcanobacterium species. The obtained clusters of strains were further characterized by whole-cell fatty acid analysis and a variety of biochemical tests. Species-specific oligonucleotide probes based on 16S rRNA gene sequences were d...