Species of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria in respiratory specimens from Serbia

This study aimed to provide the first comprehensive report into the local pattern of mycobacterial isolation. We used the GenoType MTBC and CM/AS assays (Hain Lifescience) to perform speciation of 1 096 mycobacterial cultures isolated from respiratory specimens, one culture per patient, in Serbia over a 12-month period. The only species of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) identified in our study was M. tuberculosis, with an isolation rate of 88.8%. Ten different species of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were recognized, and the five most frequently isolated species were, in descending order, M. xenopi, M. peregrinum, M. gordonae, M. avium and M. chelonae. In total, NTM isolates accounted for 11.2% of all isolates of mycobacteria identified in pulmonary specimens. Our results suggest that routine differentiation among members of the MTBC is not necessary, while routine speciation of NTM is required. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175039