Prevalence of nocardiosis and use of Modified Thayer Martin medium

5 cases of pulmonary and 1 case of cerebral nocardiosis in the form of abscess caused by Nocardia asteroides were detected in a study of 498 clinical specimens from 428 patients of suspected tuberculosis and mycoses, giving an overall prevalence of 1.4 percent. Modified Thayer Martin Medium was useful for recovery of two isolates of N. asteroides from 100 patients. These isolates also grew on other media but on MTM, no hampering admixture of commensals occurred.