TYPE FREQUENCY AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF MYCOBACTERIUM-AVIUM-INTRACELLULARE COMPLEX STRAINS ISOLATED IN ITALY FROM AIDS AND NON-AIDS PATIENTS

Typing of the glycopeptidolipid antigens performed by thin layer chrom atography on 59 Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAC) strains isola ted in Italy from AIDS patients showed that the most frequent types we re 1, 4, 3, 8, and 21 (24, 19, 14, 14 and 8% of the strains, respectiv ely). Among non-AIDS patients, types 1, 4 and 8 were also frequently f ound. The antimicrobial susceptibility tested in agar and/or liquid me dia to a panel of drugs indicated in clofazimine and rifabutin effecti ve agents against both AIDS and non-AIDS strains. The data obtained sh ow that MAC type distribution in Italy appears to be different from th at reported for other countries. No major differences in drug suscepti bility between AIDS and non-AIDS related strains were found.