Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria: An Emerging Clinical Problem

Abstract

Mycobacteria are aerobic organism that are non-sporulating, non-motile (M. marinum is an exception) and have a waxy, relatively impermeable cell wall consisting of arabinogalactan and mycolic acids. There are over 188 mycobacterial species. Mycobacteria have a high GC content (around 65%) and the ability to grow over a wide temperature range (25-53 C). They are largely environmental organisms (M. tuberculosis and M. leprae are exceptions) and are slowly growing bacteria (M. leprae cannot be cultured on artificial media) with a long generation time of approximately twenty hours.