An outbreak of keratitis caused by Mycobacterium immunogenum.
From 8 October to 12 November 2003, 36 patients underwent surgical correction of myopia in a São Paulo, Brazil, clinic. Five patients had clinical signs of infectious keratitis, and a Mycobacterium species with previously unreported patterns determined by PCR restriction enzyme analysis of the hsp65 gene and PCR restriction enzyme analysis of the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) was isolated from corneal scrapings from four of these patients. Subsequent evaluation by phenotypic tests and partial sequencing of the hsp65, sodA, rpoB, and 16S rRNA genes and the ITS supported the species identification as a variant of Mycobacterium immunogenum. The source of infection was not determined. The outbreak was caused by a single clone, as evidenced by identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR profiles. This is the first report of an outbreak where this species was isolated from infected tissues.
Sampaio
Jorge Luiz Mello
JL
Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo--Escola Paulista de Medicina, Rua Botucatu, 862--3 degrees andar, 04023-062 São Paulo, Brazil. sampaio@ecb.epm.br
Junior
Doraldo Nassar
DN
de Freitas
Denise
D
Höfling-Lima
Ana Luisa
AL
Miyashiro
Kozue
K
Alberto
Fernando Lopes
FL
Leão
Sylvia Cardoso
SC
D000328:Adult; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D018833:Chaperonins / Q000235:genetics; D003315:Cornea / Q000382:microbiology; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007634:Keratitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009170:Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S; C074119:heat-shock protein 65, Mycobacterium; D018833:Chaperonins