Antibiotic susceptibility testing and species identification of Nocardia isolates: a retrospective analysis of data from a French expert laboratory, 2010–2015

Abstract

In this first epidemiological study of Nocardia isolated from human samples in France, N. farcinica was the species most frequently identified and its prevalence increased over time.

Inhibition Activity of Avibactam against Nocardia farcinica β-Lactamase FAR IFM10152

“…N. farcinica IFM 10152 is a reference strain whose genome has previously been sequenced (GenBank accession number AP006618) (23). Ten N. farcinica clinical isolates were selected from the collection of the Observatoire Français des Nocardioses (see Table S2 in the supplemental material) (5).…”

“…imipenem (overall frequency of 23 to 67%) (5)(6)(7)(8)(9) precludes the use of any ␤-lactam (coresistance frequency of 23%).…”

“…This enzyme preferentially hydrolyses penams (benzylpenicillin, amoxicillin, ticarcillin, and piperacillin), and clavulanate is the most potent inhibitor of FAR-1 among ␤-lactamase inhibitors belonging to the ␤-lactam family (clavulanate, tazobactam, and sulbactam) (11). Indeed, ϳ80% of N. farcinica isolates are susceptible to the amoxicillin-clavulanate combination (5)(6)(7)9). Avibactam is a non-␤-lactam ␤-lactamase inhibitor belonging to the diazabicyclooctane family, which has been recently approved (12); it inhibits Ambler class A, C, and some class D ␤-lactamases (13).…”

Nocardia takedensis: a newly recognized pathogen responsible for skin and soft tissue infections

“…MS1-3t and AS4-2 were isolated in Japan respectively from a moat sediment and from sludge obtained from a sewage treatment plant. To date, only nine clinical isolates of N. takedensis have been reported in human [2][3][4][5][6][7][13][14][15]. The main clinical and microbiological features of N. takedensis isolates are summarized in the Table 1.…”

“…Moreover, Brown-Elliott et al, have previously suggested that Nocardia brasiliensis, a species that is phylogenetically closely related to N. takedensis, is predominantly isolated in tropical or subtropical region [16]. Recently, Lebeaux et al, showed a higher density of Nocardia isolates in the South of France and overseas territories than in other French areas, suggesting that environmental conditions may also increase the spread of Nocardia sp [14]. To date, data found in the literature concerning the potential impact of the climatic conditions on soil and on N. takedensis spreading are scarce and further studies will be necessary to assess this challenging hypothesis.…”