American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of Clinical Features, Virulence, and Relapse among Mycobacterium avium Complex Species.
Traditionally, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) has been composed of M. avium and M. intracellulare; however, advances in genetic sequencing have allowed discovery of several novel species. With these discoveries, investigation of differences in risk factors, virulence, and clinical outcomes have emerged. ⋯ Our findings suggest that specific MAC species have varying degrees of virulence and classifying MAC isolates into distinct species aids in identifying which patients are at higher risk of clinical relapse/reinfection.