A strain of Nocardia was isolated from a pulmonary abscess of a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient in France. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the isolate represented a strain of Nocardia beijingensis. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was essential to guide the clinicians to successfully treat this infection.

We report a case of Nocardia amamiensis pulmonary infection in a 43-year-old immunocompromised woman. The patient was treated with imipenem/cilastatin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and had a favourable outcome. It is important that laboratories perform species identification to understand the epidemiology and susceptibility patterns of the different Nocardia spp.

Nocardia paucivorans represents a new species of the genus Nocardia that has recently been isolated from bronchial secretions of a patient with chronic lung disease. Here, we report on the course of a disseminated infection caused by this species: i.e., cerebral and subsequent meningeal manifestations, isolation from the cerebrospinal fluid, and in vitro susceptibility to various antimicrobial ...

Infections of the cornea can lead to corneal opacity and blindness if not identified quickly and managed appropriately. The terms ‘microbial keratitis’, ‘infective keratitis’ and ‘suppurative keratitis’ are all used to describe suppurative infections of the cornea. In this issue we use the term microbial keratitis. These infections are characterised by the presence of white or yellowish infiltr...

Infections of the cornea can lead to corneal opacity and blindness if not identified quickly and managed appropriately. The terms ‘microbial keratitis’, ‘infective keratitis’ and ‘suppurative keratitis’ are all used to describe suppurative infections of the cornea. In this issue we use the term microbial keratitis. These infections are characterised by the presence of white or yellowish infiltr...

Five clinical isolates of Nocardia that showed ambiguous bases within the variable region of the 16S rRNA gene sequence were evaluated for the presence of multiple copies of this gene. The type strains of three Nocardia species, Nocardia concava, Nocardia ignorata, and Nocardia yamanashiensis, which also showed ambiguous bases in the variable region, were also examined. Cloning experiments usin...

Eight actinomycete strains, isolated from 8 out of 400 sputum samples examined, taken from patients with pulmonary diseases at the Chest Unit of Khartoum Teaching Hospital in the Sudan, were provisionally assigned to the genus Nocardia according to morphological criteria. These isolates were studied further in order to establish their taxonomic status. They were found to have morphological and ...

Currently for bacterial identification and classification the rrs gene encoding 16S rRNA is used as a reference method for the analysis of strains of the genus Nocardia. However, it does not have enough polymorphism to differentiate them at the species level. This fact makes it necessary to search for molecular targets that can provide better identification. The sodA gene (encoding the enzyme s...

BACKGROUND Nocardia species cause infections in both immunocompromised and otherwise immunocompetent patients, although the mechanisms defining susceptibility in the latter group are elusive. Anticytokine autoantibodies are an emerging cause of pathogen-specific susceptibility in previously healthy human immunodeficiency virus-uninfected adults, including anti-granulocyte macrophage colony-stim...

A survey of five Nocardia spp. with respect to susceptibility towards three macrolides (erythromycin, rokitamycin, and midecamycin) showed that the Nocardia spp. have different susceptibility profiles. Most of the resistance was due to the inactivation of the macrolides by phosphorylation, glycosylation, reduction, deacylation, or a combination thereof.