Nocardiosis in pulmonary diseases in parts of Nigeria. I. Preliminary observations on five cases.

One hundred specimens of purulent of mucopurulent sputum form patients clinically known to be suffering from a variety of broncho-pulmonary diseases including chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, lobar pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis, were examined macroscopically, microscopically and by cultures to establish the aetiology of the infections. In the process, five cases of nocardiosis due to Nocardia asteroides were detected. This organism was isolated from purulent sputa in which pulmonary tuberculosis an bronchitis were suspected, but from which no acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were detected by the Ziehl-Neelsen's carbol-fuchsin (Z.N.) technique. All the isolates were from the 40-70 years age group among the 24 specimens examined from the Imo State of Nigeria, giving a high incidence of 19% for the State and an overall incidence of 5% in the whole study. This implies that pulmonary nocardiosis is not an uncommon disease in Nigeria. The need for more attention to nocardiosis in the differential diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections in Nigeria is indicated.