Abstract
Eight actinomycete strains, isolated from 8 out of 400 sputum samples examined, taken from patients with pulmonary diseases at the Chest Unit of Khartoum Teaching Hospital in the Sudan, were provisionally assigned to the genus
Nocardia
according to morphological criteria. These isolates were studied further in order to establish their taxonomic status. They were found to have morphological and chemical properties typical of nocardiae and formed a monophyletic clade in the 16S ribosomal DNA tree together with
Nocardia vaccinii
. The strains showed a unique pattern of phenotypic properties that distinguished them from representatives of recognized
Nocardia
species, including
Nocardia vaccinii
. The strains were considered to merit species status and were designated
Nocardia africana
sp. nov. The findings of the present study are consistent with the view that pulmonary nocardiosis may occur in a substantial proportion of patients who exhibit chronic lung diseases in African countries. It is important, therefore, that clinicians in such countries consider this condition, especially when patients with respiratory infections fail to respond to antitubercular therapy.