You are here:
COMPARISON OF LARGE RESTRICTION FRAGMENTS OF MYCOBACATERIUM AVIUM ISOLATES RECOVERED FROM AIDS AND NON-AIDS PATIENTS WITH THOSE OF ISOLATES FROM POTABLE WATER
Citation:
Aronson, T. W., A. E. Holtzman, N. Glover, M. G. Boian, S. Froman, O. W. Berlin, H. Hill, AND G N. Stelma Jr. COMPARISON OF LARGE RESTRICTION FRAGMENTS OF MYCOBACATERIUM AVIUM ISOLATES RECOVERED FROM AIDS AND NON-AIDS PATIENTS WITH THOSE OF ISOLATES FROM POTABLE WATER. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY 37(4):1008-1012, (1999).
Description:
We examined potable water in Los Angeles, California, as a possible source of infection in AIDS and non-AIDS patients. Nontuberculous mycobacteria were recovered from 12 (92%) of 13 reservoirs, 45 (82%) of 55 homes, 31 (100%) of 31 commercial buildings, and 15 (100%) of 15 hospitals. Large-restriction-fragment (LRF) pattern analyses were done with AseI. The LRF patterns of Mycbacterium avium isolates recovered from potable water in three homes, two commercial buildings, one reservoir, and eight hospitals had varying degrees of relatedness to 19 clinical isolates recovered from 17 patients. The high number of M. avium isolates recovered from hospital water and their close relationship with clinical isolates suggests the potential threat of nosocomial spread. This study supports the possibility that potable water is a source for the acquisition of M. avium infections.