International Journal of Mycobacteriology

A 35-year-old male patient with lepromatous leprosy came to the emergency room (ER) due to breathlessness and chest pain. The patient was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) after a bronchoscopy and started on antitubercular therapy. However, the patient continued to experience tachycardia and desaturation, and on further evaluation, Computed tomography pulmonary angiography revealed an embolus in the right descending pulmonary artery. The patient was found to have an elevated d-dimer. Further investigation revealed that the cause of the pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) was the thalidomide medication that the patient was taking for type 2 leprosy reaction...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, representing a challenge for health-care providers worldwide. Extraspinal osteoarticular tuberculosis (ESOTB) represents a rare location of TB. We aim to describe ESOTB focusing on clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic characteristics of this entity. We report a retrospective case series of patients diagnosed with ESOTB, treated, and followed up between 2015 and 2022. The diagnosis was based either on bacteriological results (culture and polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) or histological analysis...

Tuberculosis (TB) is considered a common infection in developing countries and is caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium TB. TB remains to be one of the most important health threats. TB can have varied clinical presentations; Pulmonary TB affects the lungs and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) can affect any part of the body. Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis (CTL), cervical lymphadenitis, which is also referred to as scrofula is a case of EPTB that most frequently involves the cervical lymph nodes...

Tuberculosis (TB) affecting calcaneum is relatively rare in immunocompetent adults. Due to its nonspecific presentation and the absence of constitutional symptoms of TB, diagnosis is often delayed. The authors present a case of TB of calcaneum in a young male. A 20-year-old male presented with persistent pain and mild swelling of the right heel for 6 months. Upon evaluation with radiographs, a lytic lesion was noted in the posteromedial aspect of the right calcaneum. Magnetic resonance imaging was done and was reported as subacute osteomyelitis with Brodie's abscess...

We report an unusual case of native mitral valve endocarditis in a patient with carcinoma breast in remission. She presented with intermittent fever for 4 weeks. The patient had a chemo port in situ. Blood cultures flagged positive on the 3rd day of incubation. Staining revealed branching acid-fast bacilli, which were subsequently identified as Mycobacterium fortuitum using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The patient responded well to medical management alone. Only two such cases have been reported from India previously...

BACKGROUND: For the present, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-ToF) mass spectrometry is the fastest and the most correct method for species identification of microorganisms. Apart from species-level identification, it allows to use a variety of approaches for the analysis and comparison of protein spectra of microorganisms of the same species, which are isolated from a patient at various disease states, that can be used in routine microbiological practice in laboratories fitted with mass analyzers...

BACKGROUND: Age-period-cohort (APC) analysis has been employed to differentiate long-term trends in the incidences of communicable diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), into the effects of age, birth year, and calendar period. However, no such study was hitherto conducted for Japan, which has 70 years of surveillance data. Therefore, we conducted APC analysis for TB in Japan. METHODS: The national TB data for 1953-2022 were analyzed using the log-transformed linear model of APC analysis...

BACKGROUND: Pili are polymeric, hydrophobic, proteinaceous structures generally composed of a major repeating subunit called pilin and, in some cases, a minor tip-associated adhesin subunit. Pili are involved in many virulence-associated functions, such as biofilm formation, adherence, and colonization of mucosal surfaces. METHODS: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains were isolated from clinically and laboratory-confirmed cases of tuberculosis (TB). The TB isolates were subjected to the Xpert MTB/rifampicin test and then, further susceptibility testing was performed on them against first- and second-line drugs using proportional methods...

BACKGROUND: The present meta-analysis was assessed to confirm the association between solute carrier family 11-member A1 (SLC11A1) gene (rs17235409) polymorphism with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the Asian and Caucasian populations. METHODS: A search was conducted using the databases including Google Scholar, Science Direct, Embase, and PubMed to find the case-control studies related to SLC11A1 gene polymorphism and tuberculosis (TB) infection. The MetaGenyo programme was used to perform statistical analyses of the data...

BACKGROUND: National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) activities have decelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doubt is raising globally on emerging tuberculosis (TB) epidemic related to COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we aim to identify the trends in incidence and patterns of TB during the pandemic (2020-2022). METHODS: A single-institution retrospective study was conducted. All data including demography, site of involvement, and the time trends of TB cases registered under NTEP between January 2019 and June 2022 at our hospital were retrieved from the prospective register...

BACKGROUND: The resurgence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains that resist anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drugs used currently stresses the search for more effective low-toxicity drugs against new targets. Due to their role in ion homeostasis and virulence, Mtb plasma membrane P-type ATPases are interesting anti-TB targets, in particular, the Ca2+ transporting P2-type ATPase CtpF which is involved in oxidative stress response and persistence. METHODS: In this study, the effect on the transcription level of the ctpF gene and other Mtb P2-type ATPases of two anti-Mtb hits was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)...

BACKGROUND: The major antigens encoded by Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific genomic regions of differences (RDs) could be useful in the development of new vaccines and/or diagnostic reagents using T-cell and/or antibody assays. In particular, RD1 proteins PE35, PPE68, ESXA, ESXB, and RD9 protein ESXV and their peptides have been identified as major T-cell antigens. However, little is known about their antibody reactivities in different mammalian species. This study aims to determine the antigen-specific antibody reactivities to the above antigens and their peptides in three different mammalian species, i...

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium nebraskense is a rare, slow growing nontuberculous mycobacterium species with limited documented cases. This systematic review aims to comprehensively analyze the clinical characteristics, presentation, and management of M. nebraskense infections by analyzing the available literature, including a newly reported case that we present in this article. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify relevant cases up to October 2023...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a high burden disease in India. Nutrition plays a pivotal role in holistic recovery of the same. METHODS: Patients with sputum positive pulmonary TB were consecutively recruited into the study aimed to observe the incidence of under nutrition and anergy purified protein derivative (PPD). Anthropometry and PPD testing were done at baseline. Patients were followed-up at 6 months, with PPD intradermal test repeated to study tuberculin conversion...

BACKGROUND: Poor glycemic control during tuberculosis (TB) treatment is challenging, as the optimum treatment strategy remains unclear. We assessed hyperglycemia severity using glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test and predictors of severe hyperglycemia at the time of TB diagnosis in three resources-diverse regions in Tanzania. METHODS: This was a substudy from a large cohort study implemented in three regions of Tanzania. TB individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) (prior history of DM or newly diagnosed DM) were assessed for hyperglycemic levels using HbA1c test and stratified as mild (<53 mmol/mol), moderate (≥53-<86 mmol/mol), and severe (≥86 mmo/mol)...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is caused by the dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) from the primary site of infection to the central nervous system. However, the bacterial factors associated with the pathogenesis of TBM remain unclear. This study employed transcriptomic and proteomic methods to comprehensively analyze the changes in genes and proteins and their associated pathways in MTB strains isolated from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of TBM and sputum of pulmonary TB (PTB) cases...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the oldest and deadliest infectious diseases known to affect human health, which is gaining renewed importance today. METHODS: In our center, which is a tertiary research hospital, the data of patients hospitalized due to TB between 2011 and 2022 were retrospectively identified by searching the database. RESULTS: Six women (30.0%) and 14 men (70.0%) were included in the study. When analyzed by age grouping, four patients between the ages of 19 and 34 years (20...

BACKGROUND: Drug-resistance tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important global public health problems. Accurate and rapid drug-susceptibility testing is critical for the effective treatment of TB patients. Various colorimetric methods are used for anti-TB drug-susceptibility testing (DST) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination. This study was conducted to evaluate the resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) and malachite green decolorization assay (MGDA). METHODS: A total of 65 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from patients with suspected TB using REMA and malachite green microtiter assay methods were tested against streptomycin (SM), isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), and ethambutol (ETB)...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is the primary infectious cause of mortality worldwide. Although TB incidence and prevalence are declining, the use of immunosuppressive drugs and the growing prevalence of immunocompromising conditions such as comorbidities, malignancies, and the use of immunosuppressive agents are risk factors for disseminated TB (DTB). This study aims to identify the relevant clinical, laboratory, radiological, and histopathological features of DTB, as well as to assess the typical anatomical distributions and treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed with the disease at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC)...

BACKGROUND: Leprosy is still a global problem, especially in developing countries, including Indonesia. Ineffective prevention of leprosy leads to active transmission of the disease. World Health Organization (WHO) recommend post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with single dose of rifampicin (SDR) for leprosy patients. Previous study showed protective effect of SDR against leprosy, especially for the first 2 years. Hence, the use of PEP and IgM anti PGL-1 examination are required to suspend the chain of leprosy transmission...