title: Smooth Tubercle Bacilli: Neglected Opportunistic Tropical Pathogens.
abstract: Smooth tubercle bacilli (STB) including "Mycobacterium canettii" are members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), which cause non-contagious tuberculosis in human. This group comprises <100 isolates characterized by smooth colonies and cordless organisms. Most STB isolates have been obtained from patients exposed to the Republic of Djibouti but seven isolates, including the three seminal ones obtained by Georges Canetti between 1968 and 1970, were recovered from patients in France, Madagascar, Sub-Sahara East Africa, and French Polynesia. STB form a genetically heterogeneous group of MTBC organisms with large 4.48 ± 0.05 Mb genomes, which may link Mycobacterium kansasii to MTBC organisms. Lack of inter-human transmission suggested a yet unknown environmental reservoir. Clinical data indicate a respiratory tract route of contamination and the digestive tract as an alternative route of contamination. Further epidemiological and clinical studies are warranted to elucidate areas of uncertainty regarding these unusual mycobacteria and the tuberculosis they cause.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Marseille, France; Centre d'Études et de Recherche de Djibouti (CERD), Institut de Recherche Médicinale (IRM), Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti.
authors.forename: Djaltou
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aboubaker Osman
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Marseille, France; Enzymologie Interfaciale et Physiologie de la Lipolyse UMR7282, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Feriel
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouzid
authors.affiliation: Enzymologie Interfaciale et Physiologie de la Lipolyse UMR7282, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille Université , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canaan
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095 , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drancourt
keywords: Djibouti; Horn of Africa; Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; amoebas; cellulases; smooth tubercle bacilli; “Mycobacterium canettii”