Nocardia Bacteria Causes Nocardia Infection, Pulmonary Nocardiosis Symptoms
Nocardia bacteria causes an infection, mostly infecting your lungs, brain or skin. Since nocardia bacteria dwells in the soil worldwide, its avenue into your body is usually by inhalation or open wound.
Higher infection rates are in hot, dry climate areas, likely due to dust in the air. Nocardia infection, aka nocardiosis, generally strikes those with weakened immune systems. And this infection is not considered prevalent nor contagious.
Nocardia infection tends to start in your lungs, initiating pulmonary nocardiosis. It may spread, normally to your brain and skin. However, it can also infect your kidneys, joints, heart, eyes and bones.
Nocardia infection symptoms vary depending on which organs are infiltrated by the bacteria. Typical symptoms caused by pulmonary nocardiosis are fever, cough and chest pain.
The broad range of other symptoms caused by nocardia infection are:
- seizures
- hepatitis
- arthralgia
- dizziness
- confusion
- headache
- hemoptysis
- night sweats
- swollen spleen
- abdominal pain
- nausea, vomiting
- fever may undulate
- shortness of breath
- swollen lymph nodes
- pulmonary insufficiency
- unintentional weight loss
- skin ~ infection, rashes, lumps, abscesses
Some with nocardiosis never experience any symptoms.
Nocardia infection can cause further complications of:
- cellulitis
- sinusitis
- anorexia
- peritonitis
- skin scars
- mycetoma
- pneumonia
- endocarditis
- septic arthritis
- brain abscesses
- persistent meningitis
- loss of neurological function
- chronic dyspnea due to lung scarring
Although you can get this infection despite a healthy immune system, nocardiosis poses a greater risk if you have:
- lupus
- cancer
- severe asthma
- immunodeficiency
- suppressed immune system
- organ, bone marrow transplant
- chronic granulomatous disease
- chronic lung disease ~ emphysema, tuberculosis
Long term corticosteroid therapy puts you in peril as well.
The treatment for nocardiosis is antibiotics. Response can be slow, so you may need to treat an infection with nocardia for at least 3 months. Sometimes, it takes as long as a year for antibiotic treatment to completely annihilate this bacteria.
If you develop an abscesses caused by nocardia, drainage may be necessary. Also, death from sepsis, pneumonia or a brain abscess is plausible if your nocardia infection spreads and treatment is delayed.
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