Transmission

The bacteria that cause nocardiosis are commonly found in soil and water.
You could become sick with nocardiosis if:

• You inhale (breathe in) the bacteria
• Bacteria gets into an open wound or cut

In rare cases, infection can occur during surgical procedures.
Fortunately, nocardiosis is not spread person to person, so being around someone who has the disease will not make you sick.

  Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of nocardiosis vary depending on which part of your body is affected.
Nocardiosis infection most commonly occurs in the lung. If your lungs are infected, you can experience:

• Fever
• Weight loss
• Night sweats
• Cough
• Chest pain
• Pneumonia

When lung infections occur, the infection commonly spreads to the brain. If your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is infected, you can experience:

• Headache
• Weakness
• Confusion
• Seizures (sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain)

Skin infections can occur when open wounds or cuts come into contact with contaminated soil. If your skin is affected, you can experience:

• Ulcers
• Nodules sometimes draining and spreading along lymph nodes

Risk of Infection

People with very weak immune (body defense) systems are at risk for getting nocardiosis. 
Several diseases and circumstances can cause the immune system to be weak. These include:

• Diabetes
• Cancer
• HIV/AIDS
• Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (an illness that causes the air sacs of the lungs to become plugged)
• Connective tissue disorder (a disease that affects the tissue that connects and supports different parts of the body)
• Alcoholism
• Having a bone marrow or solid organ transplant
• Taking high doses of drugs called corticosteroids

In the United States, it has been estimated that 500-1,000 new cases of nocardiosis infection occur every year. Approximately 60% of nocardiosis cases are associated with pre-existing immune compromise. 
In addition, men have a greater risk of getting the infection than women; for every female who gets sick with nocardiosis, there are about 3 males who get the disease.

Treatment

If you think you might be sick with nocardiosis, talk to your doctor.
He or she can help find out if you have the disease by performing tests that can identify the bacteria that causes nocardiosis.
Testing may involve taking tissue samples from the part of the body that is infected. Tissue samples may include the:

• Brain
• Skin
• Lungs (or other parts of the lower airways)
• Mucus from the lower airways