Letter to the Editor Clinical Microbiology First Report of Nocardia farcinica Bursitis in a Patient

Nocardia species of the family Nocardiaceae form a homoge-nous cluster within the order Corynebacteriales, formerly subor-der Corynebacteriaceae [1]. Nocardia, a genus of aerobic acti-nomycetes, is characterized by filamentous, branching, gram positive, partially acid-fast bacteria found worldwide as soil sap-rophytes [2]. The most common site of Nocardia infection is the respiratory tract, with subsequent dissemination to distant or-gans. Disseminated nocardiosis to the brain, kidneys, joints, or eyes can occur by hematogenous spread of infection [3]. Micro-biological diagnosis of nocardiosis and identification of Nocardia clinical isolates to the species level by conventional methods are difficult. However, identification to species level is important to characterize associated disease manifestations, to predict anti-microbial susceptibility, and for epidemiological and ecological purposes [2]. Various nucleic acid amplification methods target