title: Mycobacterial infections in coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients in South Korea.
abstract: 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.
authors: Institute of Hansen's Disease, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, South Korea.
authors: Young Mi
authors: YM
authors: Kim
authors: Myungshin
authors: M
authors: Kim
authors: Seong Keun
authors: SK
authors: Kim
authors: Kyoungsil
authors: K
authors: Park
authors: Song-Hyo
authors: SH
authors: Jin
authors: Ui Sun
authors: US
authors: Lee
authors: Yonggoo
authors: Y
authors: Kim
authors: Gue Tae
authors: GT
authors: Chae
authors: Seong-Beom
authors: SB
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C505805:rpoB protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases