HWN Suggests

A Young Athlete Gets a Series of Infections. Why Wouldn’t They Go Away?

This organism normally lives in the mouth and colon and sometimes the vagina. It has been associated with P.I.D. in patients with IUDs. It’s an aggressive bug and can spread throughout the body. If not thoroughly wiped out, it can come back again and again.

It’s a bug that’s just rare enough so that internists won’t see it but common enough so that infectious-disease docs like me will run across it pretty regularly,” he replied thoughtfully. “And that makes all the difference.”

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Featured

 Actinomycosis: a frequently forgotten disease

Actinomycosis mimics other diseases, often malignancy. Disease risk in immunocompromised subjects needs clarification. Diagnosis is often delayed and ‘sulfur granules’ are helpful but nonspecific.

 Bacteria That Masquerade as Fungi Actinomycosis/Nocardia

Called “great masqueraders,” diagnosis of actinomycosis and nocardiosis is often delayed. The hallmark of both infections is abscess formation and chronic progression of infection without regard to anatomic barriers. Patients frequently present with fistulous tracts and draining sinuses

Articles of Interest

Actinomycosis: a great pretender. Case reports of unusual presentations and a review of the literature

Actinomycosis is a rare, chronic disease caused by a group of anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria that normally colonize the mouth, colon, and urogenital tract. Infection involving the cervicofacial area is the most common clinical presentation, followed by pelvic region and thoracic involvement.

Actinomycosis: a great pretender. Case reports of unusual presentations and a review of the literature

Due to its propensity to mimic many other diseases and its wide variety of symptoms, clinicians should be aware of its multiple presentations and its ability to be a ‘great pretender’.

My Pap Test Diagnosis Reads “bacteria consistent with Actinomyces Species-What Should I Do?

Actinomyces are present as commensal organisms in healthy humans and are best thought of as opportunistic pathogens. Therefore, the mere presence of Actinomyces is not diagnostic of disease. (This is also why no molecular test exists for Actinomyces.) Actinomyces may colonize the female genital tract and be present in polymicrobial pelvic abscesses—and while IUD-associated actinomycosis has been reported, case reporting is poor and therefore there are no clear statistics regarding the total number of cases.

Pathology of Actinomycosis

This organism occur as commensals in the mouth and "sulphur" granules are commonly found in the tonsillar crypts of healthy persons. The actinomycetes are ordinarily of low pathogenicity. Underlying disease and interruption of mucocutaneous barriers predispose a person to actinomycosis by providing a medium in which these endogenous organisms can invade, proliferate and disseminate.

Resources

AntiMicrobe

Actinomyosis is a subacute to chronic bacterial disease that is characterized by slowly progressing suppurative fibrosing inflammation, development of draining sinus tracts that may discharge characteristic "sulfur granules," and direct dissemination via contiguous tissues. It most commonly involves the cervicofacial area, thorax or abdomen, including the pelvis, but rarely also the central nervous system (CNS), skin or bone.

Microbe Canvas

Although they are not normally a disease causing organism, it is the primary causative agent of Actinomycosis, a long term infection that commonly affects the face and neck.

NHS

Actinomycosis is very rare, so the chances of getting it are extremely small.

ScienceDirect

Actinomyces, which generally have low virulence and are part of the normal flora of the mouth and gastrointestinal tract, gain access to tissues by a breech in the mucous membranes of the mouth, oropharynx, and gastrointestinal tract or by aspiration.

StatPearls

Actinomycosis is generally not diagnosed until the chronic phase.

WikiDoc

Actinomycosis is a rare infectious bacterial disease of humans generally caused by Actinomyces israelii, A. gerencseriae and Propionibacterium propionicus. It is characterized by formation of painful abscesses in mouth, lungs, and digestive organs.