Reviews of infectious diseases
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The incidence of lung disease due to mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis (atypical mycobacteria) in Japan was estimated to be 0.9--1.9 per 10(5) population per year in 1971--1979. Although the incidence of lung tuberculosis is steadily decreasing, the incidence of lung disease due to atypical mycobacteria has remained at almost the same level. The number of patients newly infected per year in recent years was calculated to be approximately 2,000. ⋯ The disease due to M. kansasii appeared most frequently in hospitals in the Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures. Patients with lung tuberculosis had a high risk of lung infection due to M. avium-intracellulare. The incidence of such disease in tuberculous patients was estimated to be 18.7 per 10(5) population per year, a rate that is approximately 10 times that found in the general population.