Mycobacterial infections in coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients in South Korea.
Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is the most common occupational disease in South Korea and is an important factor in the development of infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). In the current study, we identified mycobacterial species that cause pulmonary infections in CWP patients, using rpoB DNA-PCR-restriction analysis. Among the 129 CWP patients studied, 35 (27.1%) were diagnosed as having mycobacterial infections. Among these, the proportion of NTM infections (21/35, 60.0%) was higher than that for MTB infections (14/35, 40.0%). Of the 21 NTM strains, the most common was M. intracellulare (6/21, 28.6%), followed by M. avium (5/21, 23.8%). We also compared the characteristics of CWP patients between the MTB and NTM infection groups. A higher proportion of CWP patients with NTM infections compared with those with MTB infections had a history of having been involved in rock work (38.1% vs 21.4%), and had complicated CWP (85.7% vs 35.7%) and a past history of TB treatment (61.9% vs 50.0%). We also discovered 3 MTB mutants that are resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs, in CWP patients. These results demonstrate the features of pulmonary mycobacterial infections with a predominance of NTM in CWP patients in South Korea.
Kim
Young Mi
YM
Institute of Hansen's Disease, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, South Korea.
Kim
Myungshin
M
Kim
Seong Keun
SK
Park
Kyoungsil
K
Jin
Song-Hyo
SH
Lee
Ui Sun
US
Kim
Yonggoo
Y
Chae
Gue Tae
GT
Lee
Seong-Beom
SB
D000368:Aged; D055008:Anthracosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C505805:rpoB protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases