title: Highlight on advances in nontuberculous mycobacterial disease in North America.
abstract: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in the environment and exist as an important cause of pulmonary infections in humans. Pulmonary involvement is the most common disease manifestation of NTM and the incidence of NTM is growing in North America. Susceptibility to NTM infection is incompletely understood; therefore preventative tools are not well defined. Treatment of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection is difficult and entails multiple antibiotics and an extended treatment course. Also, there is a considerable variation in treatment management that should be considered before initiating treatment. We highlight the new findings in the epidemiology diagnosis and treatment of mycobacterial infections. We debate new advances regarding NTM infection in cystic fibrosis patients and solid organ transplant recipients. Finally, we introduce a new epidemiologic model for NTM disease based on virulence-exposure-host factors.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine M/C 719, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612-7323, USA.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirsaeidi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Maham
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farshidpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine M/C 719, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612-7323, USA.
authors.forename: Golnaz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, University of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Falkinham
mesh_terms: D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009170:Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009656:North America; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology*