Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease is increasing globally. Although the etiological epidemiology of NTM is different across regions, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is the leading cause of NTM lung disease in most countries, including mainland Japan. Okinawa is located in the southernmost region of Japan and is the only prefecture categorized as a subtropical region in Japan, it i...

It has been hypothesized that a variety of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species to which livestock and wildlife species are naturally exposed induce broadly cross-reactive anti-mycobacterial immune responses which interfere with current standard diagnostic assays. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria have also been implicated in Mycobacterium bovis-specific immune responsiveness, hence potentiall...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency and clinical significance of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolates among children investigated for pulmonary tuberculosis in a rural South African community. METHODS Children were investigated for pulmonary tuberculosis as part of a tuberculosis vaccine surveillance program (2001-2005). The clinical features of children in whom NTM were isolated, from...

Increasing evidence indicates that the risk of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease is elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the risk factors and outcomes for NTM disease among RA patients remain unclear. We conducted a case-control study and estimated odds ratios (ORs) for RA patients with NTM disease according to comorbidities and anti-rheumatic medications by usi...

BACKGROUND The number of patients with pulmonary disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has been increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term trends in the NTM recovery rate from respiratory specimens over a 10-year period in a tertiary referral hospital in South Korea. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the records of mycobacterial cultures of respirato...

A significant knowledge gap exists concerning the geographical distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation worldwide. To provide a snapshot of NTM species distribution, global partners in the NTM-NET framework (www.ntm-net.org), a branch of TBNET, provided identification results of the total number of patients in 2008 in whom NTM were isolated from pulmonary samples. From these ...

To the Editor: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), defined as members of Mycobacterium species other than those in the M. tuberculosis complex or M. leprae, are mostly considered to be opportunistic pathogens (1). However, many NTM can and do cause disease in immune-competent hosts. Pulmonary infection by NTM can be a source of diagnostic uncertainty, especially in locations such as in China, wh...

The timely differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) and non-tubercular mycobacterium (NTM) species is urgently needed in patient care since the routine laboratory method is time consuming and cumbersome. An easy and cheap method which can successfully distinguish MTC from NTM was established and evaluated. 38 mycobacterial type and reference strains and 65 clinical isolates r...

The main cause of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). We aimed to evaluate the contribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) to pulmonary disease in patients from the state of Rondônia using respiratory samples and epidemiological data from TB cases. Mycobacterium isolates were identified using a combination of conventional tests, polymerase chain...

The incidence of lung and other diseases due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is increasing. NTM sources include potable water, especially in households where NTM populate pipes, taps, and showerheads. NTM share habitats with free-living amoebae (FLA) and can grow in FLA as parasites or as endosymbionts. FLA containing NTM may form cysts that protect mycobacteria from disinfectants and anti...