title: Differential diagnostic assays for discriminating mycobacteria, especially for nontuberculous mycobacteria: what does the future hold?
abstract: Mycobacteria infections are an important medical problem, and many are regarded as emerging and re-emerging diseases. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, remains a leading cause of human morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 8.6 million cases and 1.3 million deaths in 2012. In addition, the incidence of nontuberculous Mycobacterium infection has significantly increased, especially among developed countries. Although phenotypical appearances such as culture characteristics and/or susceptibility to anti-Mycobacterium drugs are variable between different mycobacterial species, early diagnosis is crucial in terms of patient treatment and clinical outcome. In this manuscript, we describe the development of diagnostic techniques, from the classical/conventional to the most recent advances, and provide an overview of the future direction of discrimination procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mycobacteriology, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 4-2-1 Aoba, Higashi-Murayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009170:Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: 16S ribosomal (r)RNA; DNA hybridization assay; DNA probe; high-performance liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; mycolic acids; whole-genome sequencing