ISOLATION OF NONTUBERCULOUS, NON-AVIUM MYCOBACTERIA FROM PATIENTS INFECTED WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS

Mycobacterium avium serovars account for 97% of typeable M. avium comp lex (MAC) organisms causing infection in patients with AIDS, We review ed 216 consecutive cultures that yielded nontuberculous mycobacteria ( NTM) from 212 patients. Only the first isolate of each species of NTM recovered from each patient was analyzed in the study. Among the 92 pa tients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, 96 NTM organism s were identified; M, avium was recovered from 50 (77%) of the 65 NTM- positive cultures of blood or bone marrow, while Mycobacterium intrace llulare and other non-avium NTM accounted for 18% and 5% of the isolat es, respectively, Little difference in the susceptibility of isolates to antibiotics was noted between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patient s or between M. avium and M. intracellulare. These data demonstrate th at HIV-positive patients develop disseminated disease with NTM other t han M. avium more frequently than has been previously reported and tha t these patients do not appear to be infected with NTM that are more r esistant to antimicrobial agents than are NTM isolated from HIV-negati ve patients.