Nocardiosis
An infection by a funguslike bacterium found throughout the world. This infection is not normally found in healthy patients, but it occurs in those with a compromised immune system, beginning in the lungs and spreading to tissues under the skin.
Cause. The disease is caused by infection with Nocardia asteroides, an aerobic species of actinomycetes. The organism enters the respiratory tract and spreads throughout tine bloodstream.
Symptoms. Fever and cough similar to pneumonia that does not respond to normal short-term antibiotics, with lung damage and brain abscesses. Occasionally, this bacterium causes skin abscesses only (especially in gardeners).
Treatment. Sulfonamide drugs for 12 to 18 months, sometimes in conjunction with other antibiotics, together with surgical drainage of abscesses, cures between 50 percent and 60 percent of cases.
