ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:To understand the species distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM ) in Fujian Province of China , we collected clinical Mycobacterium isolates in the Fuzhou Pulmonary Hospital from 2009 to 2012 .A total of 6 362 clinical My‐cobacteria isolates were identified as 5 713 (89 .8% ) M .tuberculosis complex and 649 (10 .2% ) NTM strains by conventional identification method .Then ,by means of hsp65‐and rpoB‐PCR‐RFLP methods ,649 NTM strains were identified as 24 spe‐cies or complex of NTM ,in which the top three species or complex with the highest occurrence frequency were M .intracellular , M .avium and M .abscessus ,accounting for 48 .5% ,21 .3% and 12 .5% respectively .The prevalence rate of NTM was 10 .2%among Mycobacterium culture‐positive patients .There are lots of NTM species infecting human being ,and the most prevalence NTM species was M .avium complex accounting for 67 .8% in Fujian Province .
ABSTRACT
The Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus (M.chelonae/abscessus) complex belongs to the rapidly growing genus Mycobacterium (RGM).It is one of the most important pathogenic members of Mycobacterium leading to nosocomial infections and outbreaks.It includes members of M.chelonae,M.immnunogenum,M.abscessus,M.massiliense,and M.bolletii.In order to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of the M.chelonae/abscessus complex in China and to conduct the molecular methods for species identification of M.chelonae/abscessus,we collected clinical M.chelonae/abscessus complex strains identified by phenotypic tests.Members were verified by sequencing of 16S rRNA,Species and subspecies were identified by hsp65 and rpoB PCR RFLP methods.In total,27 clinical specimens were identified as Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex by phenotypic tests.16s rRNA gene sequence analysis of all 27 clinical samples shared over 99.7％ similarity with M.chelonae and M.abscessus.Species identification with hsp65 PCR-RFLP and rpoB PCR-RFLP revealed that 18 specimens were M.abscessus and 4 were M.absecces.The remaining 5 samples displayed a pattern that failed to match any previously reported pattern.Thus,this might represent a novel species that is part of the Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex.We identified that a majority of the chronic lung infection in China is caused by the M.chelonae/abscessus complex.Specifically,the M.abscessus species might be the most infectious,while other species in the complex can still cause infection.Interestingly,there may be a novel or previously unidentified species that is a part of the complex.Finally,we show that species identification can be carried out more accurately by combined use of hsp65 and rpoB PCR-RFLP.