Nocardia brasiliensisInfection in the United States: A Report of Nine Cases and a Review of the Literature

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Abstract
Nine cases of human infection caused by Nocardia brasiliensis within the United States are reported. Most of the infections were acquired in the southern part of the country. Only two of the isolates were from fully developed mycetomas. Five were from cutaneous lesions which could not be differentiated from ordinary bacterial abscesses and two were from ulcers of the leg. In one case the infection disseminated to the lungs and brain and the patient died. The other eight cases resolved after treatment by incision and drainage and topical or systemic antibiotics. A review of the 17 previously reported cases of N. brasiliensis infections in this country indicated that this organism can also produce a lymphocutaneous type of lesion which resembles that of sporotrichosis. Criteria for the laboratory identification of N. brasiliensis are discussed.

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