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Increasing nontuberculous mycobacteria reporting rates and species diversity identified in clinical laboratory reports
Citation:
Donohue, M. Increasing nontuberculous mycobacteria reporting rates and species diversity identified in clinical laboratory reports. BMC Infectious Diseases. BioMed Central Ltd, London, Uk, 18(1):163, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-3043-7
Impact/Purpose:
The paper discusses the increased frequency of nontuberculous mycobacteria. Rational: NTM are environmental microorganisms that can affect human health. Environmental sources are the most likely exposure routes for NTM infections and diseases, due to the lack of significant person to person transmission. A recent survey of NTM occurrence in potable water indicated an increased isolation rate for many clinically significant NTMs species. Objectives: To examine the isolation rate and reporting frequency of NTM species recovered from human specimens, the data supplied by the health department of four States were compared to historic numbers to examine potential trends. Method: The number of reports by NTM species and by calendar month were provide by Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin’s Health Departments. Counts and percentage of total for each species and complex/group were tabulated. Measurements and Main Results: Increase NTM diversity was observed. Much of the diversity change was observed in complex/groups known to be clinically significant. Between 1994 and 2014 the number of reports implicating M. abscesses-chelonae group and M. avium Complex increased by 251% and 174%, respectively. Trend analysis of the number of reports by month revealed no seasonal influences. Conclusions: NTM isolation rates from human specimens have increased in each of the four states but population growth alone does not fully explain the increased rates. Therefore, it is important to begin identifying the routes and media responsible for human exposure.
Description:
Background Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental microorganisms that can affect human health. A 2009–2010 occurrence survey of NTM in potable tap water samples indicated an increased recovery rate for many clinically significant species such as M. avium (30%) and M. abscessus (12%). To determine if these trends by species were mirrored in human infections, isolation rates of NTM species identified in clinical laboratory reports from four states were evaluated. Method Clinical laboratory reports from the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin Health Departments were used to investigate the species of NTM isolated from human specimens in 2014. The NTM positive specimen reports were tabulated for each species and complex/group. The number of reports by month were used to investigate seasonal trends. The 2014 isolation rates were compared to historic values to examine longitudinal trends. Results The positive rate of NTM specimens increased from 8.2 per 100,000 persons in 1994 to 16 per 100,000 persons in 2014 (or 13.3 per 100,000 after excluding Mycobacterium gordonae). Changes in NTM diversity were observed in complex/groups known to be clinically significant. Between 1994 and 2014 the rate implicating M. abscesses-chelonae group and M. avium complex increased by 322 and 149%, respectively. Conclusions Based on public health data supplied by the four State’s Health Departments and the 2014 U.S. population, 50,976 positive NTM specimen reports per year were projected for the nation; serving as an indicator for the national potential disease burden that year.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Increasing nontuberculous mycobacteria reporting rates and species diversity identified in clinical laboratory reports
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29631541