Isolation of the newly described species Mycobacterium celatum from AIDS patients

Laboratorio di Microbiologia e Virologia, Ospedale di Careggi, Florence, Italy.

1. E Tortoli,
2. C Piersimoni,
3. D Bacosi,
4. A Bartoloni,
5. F Betti,
6. L Bono,
7. C Burrini,
8. G De Sio,
9. C Lacchini, and
10. A Mantella

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium celatum is a recently described species which, on the basis of conventional tests, may be misidentified as Mycobacterium xenopi or as belonging to the Mycobacterium avium complex. Only genomic sequencing or high-performance liquid chromatography of cell wall mycolic acids can presently allow a correct identification of this mycobacterium. Two cases of infection due to M. celatum, in AIDS patients, are described here. The quantitative susceptibility pattern of the isolates to a wide spectrum of drugs is also reported