A Case of Cutaneous Infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium (M.) fortuitum is a rapidly growing mycobacterium of Runyon's group IV. It is frequently found in water, soil and dust. Although being rarely pathogenic, M. fortuitum can cause soft tissue and skeletal infections through direct inoculation occurring in surgery or penetrating trauma. We report a case of cutaneous infection due to M. fortuitum which occurred in a 56-year-old female who had worked at a public bath. She had received a small injury to her right thigh, and thereafter an erythematous, indurated, tender plaque and small peripheral papules had developed at the injury site. The culture from the skin biopsy specimen on Ogawa medium yielded colonies after 7 days. The microorganism was subsequently identified as M. fortuitum by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The skin lesions were improved by antibiotic therapy with minocycline and ciprofloxacin.