Abstract
To examine sputum specimens from patients with persistent bronchopulmonary disorders for mycobacterium species and to characterize the recovered isolates with a view to determining the extent of involvement of environmental mycobacteria in pulmonary infections. Analytical study using standard microscopy, culture and biochemical test for the identification of mycobacterium species. Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and 2 referral hospitals: Plateau Specialist Hospital and Evangelical Churches of West Africa (ECWA) Evangel Hospital in Jos, Nigeria. Three hundred and twenty nine (329) volunteer new patients seen at the chest clinic and general out patient departments with broncho-pulmonary disorders. Patients already on anti-tuberculosis were excluded from the study. Subjects were administered antituberculosis drugs and or other treatment regimes after proper diagnosis Sixty-five (65) mycobacterial isolates were obtained and differentiated into human tubercle bacilli, bovine and or environmental (atypical) mycobacteria on the basis of nine identification tests. Of the 65 mycobacterial isolates subjected to the tests, 40 (61.54%) were identified as mycobacterium tuberculosis, 10 (15.38%) as M. bovis and 15 (23.08%) as environmental mycobacteria. Among the environmental group, 9 (20.69%) were classified as M. avium 3 (3.45%) each as M. kansasi and M. fortuitum. The study confirms the involvement of bovine and environmental mycobacteria in pulmonary infections. This may be related to the rising prevalence of HIV/AIDS globally. The need for adequate bacteriological analysis in current-day diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in indicated.
Highlights
Environmental (Atypical or “anonymous”) mycobacteria have been documented to be involved in human pulmonary infections in both developed and developing countries[1,2,3,4,5]
In the last few decades, the incidence of classical tuberculosis has been on the increase alongside tuberculosis-like disease caused by environmental mycobacteria
It is important that clinicians and bacteriologists appreciate the fact that not all Acid Fast Bacillus (AFB) found in sputum are Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Summary
Environmental (Atypical or “anonymous”) mycobacteria have been documented to be involved in human pulmonary infections in both developed and developing countries[1,2,3,4,5]. The only two reports of the involvement of bovine mycobacteria in human pulmonary infections in Nigeria are those of Alhaji and Schnurrenberger[8] who documented a 10% incidence rate in four of the Northern States of the country and Idigbe et al[5] documented a 3.9% incidence rate in Lagos. The apparent increase in the frequency of isolation of these mycobacteria from clinical specimens and the mounting evidence of their aetiology in severe pulmonary diseases in severe pulmonary diseases in man is currently generating concern as far as the accurate diagnosis and treatment of classical tuberculosis is concerned. It is important that clinicians and bacteriologists appreciate the fact that not all Acid Fast Bacillus (AFB) found in sputum are Mycobacterium tuberculosis
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