Abstract
Retrospective molecular genetic analysis of 166 Mycobacterium intracellulare isolates showed that 143 (86%) strains could be assigned to Mycobacterium chimaera sp. nov. Of 97 patients from whom M. chimaera sp. nov. was isolated, only 3.3% exhibited mycobacterial lung disease, whereas all M. intracellulare isolates caused severe pulmonary infections.
Highlights
Bacteria of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) play an important role among infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)
We tested the application of denaturating high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for the identification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) PCR product to distinguish M. intracellulare, type strain, and M. chimaera sp. nov
Our results show that M. chimaera sp. nov. accounts for most of the mycobacterial isolates formerly classified as M. intracellulare
Summary
Bacteria of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) play an important role among infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Are sparse, we performed a retrospective study to determine the frequency of its occurrence within the group of MAC-positive clinical specimens and its possible role in causing human disease in comparison to M. intracellulare. We reanalyzed mycobacterial isolates from 97 in-house patients of the Charité University Hospital that have been processed in our laboratory from 2002 through 2006. We tested the application of denaturating high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for the identification of the ITS PCR product to distinguish M. intracellulare, type strain, and M. chimaera sp.
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