DETERMINATION OF THE IN-VITRO SUSCEPTIBILITY OF 220-MYCOBACTERIUM-FORTUITUM ISOLATES TO 10 ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS

The authors investigated the in vitro susceptibility to antimicrobial agents of 220 Mycobacterium fortuitum isolates originating from clinic al samples (14) of patients attending the Hospital Universitario de Ca narias and Hospital del Torax, and from environmental sources (206): 3 from sea water, 10 from the water supply and 193 from sewage. The Min imum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was calculated using the broth mic rodilution method with Mueller-Hinton Broth without supplement. Amikac in was the most efficacious antimicrobial agent against all the isolat es of M. fortuitum with an MIC which was considerably lower than its c ritical concentration. The good results achieved with amikacin in vitr o are confirmed by those obtained in vivo, with patients infected with M. fortuitum. No significant difference was found in the efficacy of amikacin and ofloxacin against all the isolates assayed.