Navdeep Bual, medical student at Imperial College; Eleanor Axson, PhD student; and Dr Jennifer K Quint MSc, reader in respiratory epidemiology, National Heart and Lung Institute, examine why NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) presents a growing medical concern.
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are naturally occurring bacteria ubiquitous in the environment and over 150 known types have been identified.1
NTMs are part of the mycobacterium family. It was previously believed NTM were saprophytic consumers that survived within tuberculous lesions, but it is now understood that they are enabling organisms that can cause disease.3 NTM is the umbrella name for those mycobacteria that do not include leprosy or tuberculosis causative agents. They are aerobic, non-motile organisms housed by a lipid rich, hydrophobic cell wall; many have been shown to be resistant to temperature or pH changes (resulting in some being resistant to cleaning techniques) and they have varying antibiotic resistance.4 The combination of these properties allows NTM to thrive in soil and water distribution systems which is the route of infection, unlike tuberculosis which is spread through person-to-person contact.
Epidemiology
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