In the pulmonary form, the aerobic actinomycetes (usually Nocardia) can cause pneumonia, lung abscesses, or cavitary lesions.
Actinomycetes (especially Nocardia) frequently masquerade as fungal or mycobacterial in origin.
as reported by Gupta, et al., the patient presented to the emergency room with a fever and cough as well as respiratory distress over many days. Chest X-ray images may be viewed in the publication. The right lung has extensive consolidation, and there are patches of opacities in the left lung. In this case study, the elderly patient was recently diagnosed as a diabetic.
7. Gupta N, Varma M, Sheshadri S, Saravu K. Pulmonary nocardiosis in an elderly man. BMJ Case Rep. 2020;13(1):e234090. Published 2020 Jan 23. doi:10.1136/bcr-2019-234090. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://casereports.bmj.com/content/13/1/e234090 8. CDC/Georg. Image #20431. This image depicted a right anterior-oblique chest x-ray of a patient with a case of actinomycosis, which had infected this patient’s lungs, and was caused by a Gram-positive, fungus-like aerobic bacterium of the genus, Actinomyces [now referred to as actinomycetes]. PHIL public domain. Created 1965. Accessed November 12, 2022. https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=20431
