Nocardiosis: Causes, Symptoms | 合法醫療器材資訊網

Nocardiosis[1] is a disease caused by bacteria found in soil or standing water. It starts in your lungs[2] or skin[3], and can cause serious problems if it gets into your bloodstream and infects other parts of your body.

Nocardiosis comes in two forms. You get the pulmonary (lung) version from breathing in the bacteria. The second type is primary cutaneous (skin). That’s when the bacteria gets into an open wound like a scratch.

Between 500 and 1,000 people get it each year in the United States. Men are three times more likely to be infected by it than women -- middle-aged men working outdoors are at the highest risk. You also may have a greater chance of getting it if you have a weak immune system[4] because of a condition like diabetes[5], HIV[6], or cancer[7], or if you’ve had a bone-marrow or organ transplant[8]. If you’ve taken high doses of powerful steroids[9] (drugs that help with inflammation[10]), it also increases your chances.

The signs can be different,...