Open AccessSeasonality of clinical isolation of rapidly growing mycobacteria
Author(s) -
Xiang-Yang Han
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
epidemiology and infection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.992
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1469-4409
pISSN - 0950-2688
DOI - 10.1017/s095026880700982x
Subject(s) - seasonality , outbreak , isolation (microbiology) , biology , geographic variation , geography , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , environmental health , medicine , virology , population
Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are environmental organisms that have emerged as significant human pathogens. RGM infections show remarkable geographic variations. In this study, based on data from Houston, Texas, RGM were isolated from clinical cultures year-round, although peaks in the summer and autumn correlating with the seasonal variation of temperature and rainfall also were noted. These results may offer some explanation for the summer occurrence of RGM outbreaks at diverse locations.