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Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2004; 25(3): 283-295
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-829501
Copyright © 2004 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Mycobacterial Infections Caused by Nontuberculous Mycobacteria

Leonid Heifets1 , 2
  • 1National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, Colorado
  • 2Colorado University Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado
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Publication History

Publication Date:
29 June 2004 (online)

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The purpose of this review is to familiarize a broad range of medical professionals with a relatively new and growing problem of infections caused by mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. There are at least 60 mycobacterial species that have been identified as causative agents of diseases in humans. They are all environmental bacteria, and they are not transmitted from person to person. The usual source of infection is water, soil, and aerosols developed from these sources. The probability of contracting such a disease depends not only on the closeness of interaction with an environment containing an enhanced concentration of bacteria but also and foremost on the sensitivity of an individual to these infections, which may depend on the state of immunity and other so-called predisposing conditions. Therefore, these infections are often referred to as opportunistic, and the group of organisms causing them are usually referred to as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). This review addresses in a condensed form various aspects of these infections, including bacteriology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapy. The reader will be able to find more details on each of these topics in several reviews and some original papers cited in this article.

KEYWORDS

Mycobacterium - nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) - environmental mycobacteria - infections with opportunistic mycobacteria

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Leonid HeifetsM.D. Ph.D. Sc.D. 

National Jewish Medical and Research Center

1400 Jackson St., Denver, CO 80206

Email: HeifetsL@njc.org