This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wallace, R J Articles by Good, R C Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wallace, R J, Jr Articles by Good, R C

Disk diffusion testing with polymyxin and amikacin for differentiation of Mycobacterium fortuitum and Mycobacterium chelonei.

ABSTRACT

Disk diffusion is one method of susceptibility testing of the Mycobacterium fortuitum complex to antibacterial agents. We utilized disks of polymyxin B (300 U), amikacin, and kanamycin to determine whether they could also be used for species identification when compared with standard biochemical methods. With the polymyxin disk, 100% of 75 M. fortuitum strains produced zones of inhibition, whereas none (0%) of 58 Mycobacterium chelonei subspecies abscessus and chelonei strains had any zone of inhibition. With the amikacin disk, 99% of M. fortuitum biovariant fortuitum had zones of greater than or equal to 30 mm compared with 6% of M. chelonei. The rare M. chelonei-like organisms gave variable results, and 42% of the unnamed "third group" biovariant of M. fortuitum exhibited an unusual but diagnostic pattern of small zone sizes to amikacin and no zone to kanamycin. The kanamycin disk was otherwise not helpful, although it resulted in larger zone sizes for M. chelonei than did amikacin. Thus, disk diffusion susceptibilities which include these disks (especially polymyxin) will provide presumptive evidence of species as well as susceptibility data.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Pagan-Ramos, E., Master, S. S., Pritchett, C. L., Reimschuessel, R., Trucksis, M., Timmins, G. S., Deretic, V. (2006). Molecular and Physiological Effects of Mycobacterial oxyR Inactivation.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 2674-2680 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wallace, R. J. Jr., Brown-Elliott, B. A., Brown, J., Steigerwalt, A. G., Hall, L., Woods, G., Cloud, J., Mann, L., Wilson, R., Crist, C., Jost, K. C. Jr., Byrer, D. E., Tang, J., Cooper, J., Stamenova, E., Campbell, B., Wolfe, J., Turenne, C. (2005). Polyphasic Characterization Reveals that the Human Pathogen Mycobacterium peregrinum Type II Belongs to the Bovine Pathogen Species Mycobacterium senegalense. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 5925-5935 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brown-Elliott, B. A., Wallace, R. J. Jr. (2002). Clinical and Taxonomic Status of Pathogenic Nonpigmented or Late-Pigmenting Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 15: 716-746 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wallace, R. J. Jr., Brown-Elliott, B. A., Hall, L., Roberts, G., Wilson, R. W., Mann, L. B., Crist, C. J., Chiu, S. H., Dunlap, R., Garcia, M. J., Bagwell, J. T., Jost, K. C. Jr. (2002). Clinical and Laboratory Features of Mycobacterium mageritense. J. Clin. Microbiol. 40: 2930-2935 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wright, P. W., Wallace, R. J. Jr., Wright, N. W., Brown, B. A., Griffith, D. E. (1998). Sensitivity of Fluorochrome Microscopy for Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis versus Nontuberculous Mycobacteria. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 1046-1049 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zaleznik, D. F., Quinn, T. R. (1996). Case 33-1996- A 55-Year-Old Man with a Long-Term Tracheostomy and Acid-Fast Bacilli in Peristomal Granulations. NEJM 335: 1303-1307 [Full Text]