Mycobacterium fortuitum infection in a patient post D–J stenting procedure

Dr Anahita Bhesania Hodiwala; Dr Pradnya Samant

Volume : VIII, Issue : IV, April - 2019

Mycobacterium fortuitum infection in a patient post D–J stenting procedure

Dr Anahita Bhesania Hodiwala, Dr Pradnya Samant

Abstract :

There has been a considerable rise in the incidence of infections caused by atypical mycobacteria/ non tuberculous mycobacteria in the recent decades. They are potentially pathogenic and are capable of causing disease in healthy as well as immunocompromised patients. Non –healing post procedure wound infections which show sterile routine bacterial cultures should raise a suspicion of Atypical/ Non tuberculous Mycobacteria. A pus sample from a case of 63 year old male patient who had undergone D–J stenting and suffered from high grade fever was examined microbiologically and it showed growth of M.fortuitum. Contamination of hospital water supplies, medical equipment such as onchoscopes and endoscopes and contamination of dialysis solutions has led to both NTM colonization and health care–associated outeaks of infection . This transmission of NTM can occur in immunocompetent as well as immunocompromised hosts. Routine bacteriological cultures of such patients go sterile unless there is a high index of suspicion for NTM infection. Hence examination of frank pus samples rather than direct smears will help in identiﬁcation of these patients and give a better idea about the prevalence of these infections in the post– operative period.