• Anna Sajduda, Anandi Martin, Françoise Portaels, and Juan Carlos Palomino.
• Mycobacteriology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium. asajduda@biol.uni.lodz.pl
• Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2012 Mar 1; 16 (3): e193-7.

ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to identify and differentiate Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium chelonae-Mycobacterium abscessus group strains isolated from clinical and environmental sources in different countries.MethodsPCR-restriction analysis of the hsp65 gene (PRA) with automated capillary electrophoresis was applied to the isolates previously identified by conventional biochemical testing and the molecular INNO-LiPA MYCOBACTERIA assay.ResultsPRA performed very well in comparison with the two other methods (96.4% concordance). Among 27 M. kansasii isolates, this method detected five genetic types, of which type 1 represented the most common clinical isolate, as it is worldwide. PRA differentiated 29 M. chelonae-M. abscessus group isolates into Mycobacterium immunogenum type 2 (n=13), M. chelonae (n=12), and M. abscessus types 1 (n=1) and 2 (n=1). M. immunogenum was the most frequent (69%) isolate from humans, but only one of 11 cases was clinically significant. M. chelonae was the most commonly (83%) recovered from water. PRA also identified two isolates with hsp65 alleles representing previously unreported patterns.ConclusionsPRA based on automated capillary electrophoresis is a rapid, simple, and reliable method for the identification and differentiation of both clinically relevant and environmental isolates of M. kansasii and M. chelonae-M. abscessus group.Copyright © 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

29 keywords...

hide…