title: Detection and identification of mycobacteria in the Lisbon water distribution system.
abstract: Mycobacteria have emerged as a major cause of opportunistic infections. Until the present, only a few studies have characterized mycobacteria present in the water distribution system of urban areas. In this study, we characterize these microorganisms in the Lisbon water distribution system. Our results indicate a high rate of positivities (90.5%) with mainly saprophytic mycobacteria. Around 63% of these results belong to strains of Mycobacterium gordonae indicating a generalized proliferation of this species in the Lisbon water distribution system. A total of 21.05% of the isolates are from M. kansasii, M. intracellulare and M. chelonae.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Análises, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macieira
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cadete
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011174:Portugal; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply