ISOLATION OF ATYPICAL MYCOBACTERIA FROM TAP WATER IN HOSPITALS AND HOMES - IS THIS A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF DISSEMINATED MAC INFECTION IN AIDS PATIENTS

Infections caused by mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT), espe cially Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), are common in AIDS patients, but rare in immunocompetent persons, The route of transmission is unk nown, but tap water could provide a possible source of infection: MAC was isolated frorn tap water in the U.S.A. but this has not been repor ted in Germany. We therefore investigated tap water in Berlin for the presence of mycobacteria and compared radiometric (Bactec) and standar d plate culture methods processing large volumes of water samples. The Bactec method yielded equal results compared to standard methods but had the advantage of easy handling. Mycobacteria were isolated from 50 /118 (42.4%) samples and from 21/30 (70%) sites. The most freqnentIy i solated species was Mycobacterium gordonae (from 28% samples and from 53.3% sites); MAC was isolated from two samples only (1.7%).