Comment on “Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Isolation from Clinical and Environmental Samples in Iran: Twenty Years of Surveillance”

Abstract EN

A review of 20 studies and 14 case reports published in a recent issue of the journal from 14 provinces in Iran on clinical and environmental isolates of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) showed M.

fortuitum (229/997; 23%) as the most prevalent species from 1992 to 2014 [1].

The majority of NTM were collected from respiratory samples.

The primary method of NTM detection was by culture using the Löwenstein-Jensen media.

Molecular methods were also used depending on the particular laboratory.

From 1992 to 2006, most laboratories used traditional methods for NTM detection whether from clinical or environmental samples and from 2009 to 2014, advances in laboratory technology using a combination of traditional and molecular methods resulted in the identification of more species of NTM.