Pulmonary tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium microti: a study of six recent cases in France

J Med Microbiol. 2010 Aug;59(Pt 8):984-989. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.019372-0. Epub 2010 May 20.

Abstract

Human tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium microti is rare, but its prevalence and clinical significance may have been underestimated. To the best of our knowledge, 21 cases have been reported in the literature in the last decade. We report six recent pulmonary cases caused by M. microti over a period of 5 years detected in French clinical mycobacteriology laboratories of the hospital network. Our data confirm the potential of M. microti to cause clinical illness in immunocompetent patients. M. microti grew slowly from specimens, delaying the final microbiological diagnosis. Therefore, patients with tuberculosis caused by M. microti could benefit from the use of rapid diagnostic molecular techniques directly on clinical samples. From a review of the literature and this study, a classical antituberculous therapy seems effective in treating patients with M. microti disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Child
  • Female
  • France
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mycobacterium / classification
  • Mycobacterium / isolation & purification*
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / diagnosis*
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / microbiology*

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents