Fatal pulmonary infection associated with a novel organism, "para-streptomyces abscessus".

Actinomycetes are increasingly recognized as pathogenic in the immunocompromised host. We isolated an asporogenous, nonmotile, aerobic gram-positive rod from a transplant recipient with a fatal pulmonary infection. The pathology was similar to that associated with Rhodococcus equi, including intra-histiocytic localization. The organism was relatively inert in standard biochemical tests. 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated a potentially unique organism most closely related to the genus Streptomyces, for which we propose the name "Para-streptomyces abscessus."