HIGHLIGHTS A multiplex PCR to identifying mycobacteria of medical interest was evaluated. Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be differentiated from other with the assay. The assay showed high sensitivity and specificity in detecting M. avium complex.

One hundred methanol plant extracts were screened for antibiotic activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium. Nineteen extracts exhibited some activity against M. tuberculosis and 16 extracts showed some activity against M. avium. Thirteen of these 19 active extracts were traditionally used by First Nations peoples to treat tuberculosis. Extracts made from Heracleum maxi...

Tuberculosis can be caused by a number of different, but closely related, bacteria. Members of the tuberculosis complex include Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. microti. M. tuberculosis causes over 90% of tuberculosis in man, but rarely infects other mammals, except for dogs. M. bovis is the main cause of tuberculosis in cattle. It can also infect various other mammals, includin...

The bactericidal activities of four injectable antituberculosis drugs, streptomycin, amikacin, kanamycin, and capreomycin, against Mycobacterium avium and M. tuberculosis were tested. All four drugs were highly bactericidal against M. tuberculosis, with low MBC/MIC ratios and MBCs significantly lower than the maximum achievalbe concentrations in serum (Cmax). In contrast, all four drugs had ver...

Mycobacterium avium causes tuberculosis in chickens and other fowls but can also infect an extensive range of different animal species. The authors reviewed the available literature on this organism to show the importance of M avium infection.

The emergence of mycobacterial resistance to multiple antimicrobials emphasizes the need for new compounds. The antimycobacterial activity of mefloquine has been recently described. Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are susceptible to mefloquine in vitro, and activity was evidenced in vivo against M. avium. Attempts to obtain resistant mutants by both ...

Mycobacterium avium is an opportunistic pathogen that primarily infects immunocompromised individuals, although the frequency of M. avium infection is also increasing in the immunocompetent population. The antigen repertoire of M. avium varies from that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with the immunodominant 35-kDa protein being present in M. avium and Mycobacterium leprae but not in members of ...

A method incorporating DNA amplification and reverse dot blot hybridization for the detection and identification of mycobacteria to the species level is described. The amplification procedure allowed for the incorporation of digoxigenin-labeled UTP, which was detected by chemiluminescence, removing the need for radioactivity. Using a set of primers and probes from the gene for the 65-kDa heat s...

A multiplex PCR designed to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms from M. avium and M. intracellulare was used to test 105 isolates identified by DNA probe methods as M. avium, M. intracellulare, or M. avium complex type X. The multiple PCR correctly identified 33 of 34 isolates identified by commercial probe methods as M. avium and all 51 isolates identified as M. intracel...

BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of Mycobacterium avium complex and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the respiratory tract is poorly understood, as are the reasons for their differing virulence. We have previously shown that their initial adherence to the mucosa is identical. METHODS The interaction of M avium complex, M tuberculosis, and M smegmatis with human respiratory tissue was investigated in ...