Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are among the most important pathogens in wild, captive, marine, and freshwater fish species. So, it is important to consider fish as the primary source of infection for aquarium fish and humans. The present study analyzed the occurrence of NTM in aquarium fish in Ilam, west of Iran. In total, 50 samples of infected fish were collected from different aquariums. Following initial sample processing, sediment of each sample was inoculated into Lowenstein-Jensen and Herrold egg media. The positive colonies were investigated with, growth rate, pigmentation, colony morphology, niacin accumulation, nitrate reduction, catalase activity, urease activity, and arylsulfatase activity. Also, molecular identification was carried out by sequencing of heat shock protein 65 kD gene (hsp65) sequence analysis. According to our results, NTM were isolated from 13 samples (26%), comprising 6 (46.2%) rapid growing, and 7 (53.8%) slow growing mycobacteria. In addition, Mycobacterium marinum was the most common NTM isolated in ornamental fish, which is potentially dangerous for both fish and humans. In conclusion, the current study indicates that ornamental fish play a significant role as a source of NTM.
Tuberculosis remains a leading cause of infectious death worldwide, The potential for nucleic acid residue on bronchoscopes to cause false positive results in molecular diagnostic methods and subsequently lead to tuberculosis misdiagnosis has long perplexed clinical.
We utilized Xpert MTB/RIF to analyze the liquid collected after bronchoscope washing, employed by patients either with or without active pulmonary tuberculosis, and subjected to standard reprocessing (SR) or intensive reprocessing (IR) procedures. The IR procedure included specialized training and the provision of patient information to cleaning staff before the SR procedure, and repeated washing and suction of the bronchoscope with sterilized water post SR procedure.
55 participants enrolled in the study were divided into three groups: SR group (n = 28), IR group(n = 14), and the control group(n = 13). Among the 55 enrolled patients, neither Mycobacterium tuberculosis nor contamination was detected by MIGT 960 liquid culture in the washing liquid. The positive rate of MTB/RIF in the SR group (12/28) was significantly higher than that in the IR group (1/14), with a statistically significant difference observed between them (42.86 % vs. 7.14 %, P=0.018).
Nucleic acid residue on reusable bronchoscopes cleaned via the SR procedure was found to potentially cause false positives in MTB/RIF tests. Reprocessing bronchoscopes via the IR procedure was effective in significantly reducing nucleic acid residue, although complete elimination was not achieved.
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) poses a significant public health challenge to the control and successful eradication of TB globally. Suboptimal treatment outcomes are common among persons with MDR-TB necessitating a need to understand the contextual factors.
We determined the factors associated with unsuccessful TB treatment among persons with MDR-TB at a large TB Unit in Central Uganda.
We retrospectively reviewed medical records for all persons with MDR-TB at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital MDR-TB Clinic in Central Uganda. The patients were treated with either second-line, modified second-line, or individualized anti-TB regimens and completed treatment between January 2012 and October 2023. The primary outcome was unsuccessful TB treatment defined as death, treatment failure, or loss to follow-up and measured as a binary outcome. We used a multivariable binary logistic regression analysis to determine the factors independently associated with unsuccessful TB treatment at a 5 % statistical significance level. We reported the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and the 95 % confidence interval (CI).
We analyzed data from 98 persons with MDR-TB who were aged 15–78 years (mean 36.4 ± 15.4 years). Of these, 40 (40.8 %) were cured, 25 (25.5 %) completed TB treatment, 1 (1.0 %) had treatment failure, 13 (13.3 %) died, and 19 (19.4 %) were lost to follow-up. Overall, 33 (33.7 %) participants had unsuccessful TB treatment which was associated with older age for a 1-year increase in age (aOR 1.05, 95 % CI 1.01–1.09), malnutrition—mid-upper arm circumference of <12.5 cm (aOR 2.99, 95 % CI 1.16–7.98), and previous TB treatment (aOR 0.28, 95 % CI 0.10–0.77).
Unsuccessful TB treatment is high among persons with MDR-TB at this TB Unit. It is more likely as age advances and when persons with MDR-TB have malnutrition, but less likely when they have been previously treated for TB. Therefore, interventions to improve treatment outcomes may be beneficial for persons with MDR-TB who are older, malnourished, and those newly diagnosed with the disease. For example, routine nutritional assessment and counseling, including nutritional support for malnourished persons with MDR-TB may be needed to optimize their TB treatment success.
Advanced pulmonary tuberculosis (APT) may reflect delays in tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and contribute to ongoing disease transmission and poor outcomes. We characterized trends and factors associated with APT over ten years in a high TB-burden county within the United States.
We evaluated microbiologically and clinically confirmed TB cases reported to the Alameda County Public Health Department during 2010–2019. APT was defined as the presence of cavitation on chest imaging and positive acid-fast bacilli sputum smear. Over the ten-year period, we determined overall incidence and annual trends, and conducted multivariable logistic regression to identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with APT.
We included 997 cases with pulmonary TB, of which 128 (12.8 %) had APT. The 10-year incidence of APT was 8.8 cases per 100,000, with no significant change in proportion over time. The median age of cases with APT were 50 years (IQR 32–61), 68 % were male, and 78.9 % were non-US-born. On multivariable assessment, APT cases were more likely than non-APT cases to use drugs in the past year (aOR 2.43, 95 % CI 1.10–35.09), to have diabetes (aOR 2.51, 95 % CI: 1.59–3.96), and be HIV negative (aOR 9.32 versus HIV positive, 95 % CI 1.87–169.77). While US nativity was not significantly associated with APT, it was an effect modifier. In stratified analysis, APT was more likely among those with drug-use in the last year among US-born, while diabetes was associated with APT among non-US-born individuals.
APT remains a substantial proportion of TB cases. Efforts to increase awareness and access to care are needed for key risk groups including those with recent drug use or diabetes, with consideration of cultural and linguistic factors given differences by US nativity.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is caused by M. tuberculosis (Mtb) with resistance to the first-line anti-TB medicines isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF). In Western Kenya, there is reported low prevalence of drug resistant strains among HIV tuberculosis patients, creating a need to determine factors associated with drug resistance patterns among presumptive MDR-TB patients. To determine factors associated with drug resistance patterns among presumptive MDR-TB patients in western Kenya. Three hundred and ninety (3 9 0) sputum sample isolates from among presumptive multidrug TB patients, were analyzed for TB drug resistance as per Ministry of Health (MoH) TB program diagnostic algorithm. Frequency and percentages were used to summarize categorical data while median and interquartile range (IQR) were used for continuous data. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to identify factors associated with TB drug resistance. Out of 390 participants enrolled, 302/390 (77.4 %) were males, with a median age of 34 years. The HIV-infected were 118/390 (30.3 %). Samples included 322 (82.6 %) from presumptive patients, while 68/390 (17.4 %) were either lost to follow-up patients, failures to first-line treatment or newly diagnosed cases. A total of 64/390 (16.4 %) of the isolates had at least some form of drug resistance. Out of 390, 14/390 (3.6 %) had MDR, 12 (3.1 %) were RIF mono-resistance, 34 (8.7 %) had INH, while 4 (1 %) had ethambutol resistance. The category of previously treated patients (those who received or are currently on TB treatment) had a 70 % reduced likelihood of resistance (aOR: 0.30; 95 % CI: 0.13–0.70). In contrast, older age was associated with an increased likelihood of resistance to INH and RIF, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.04 per year (95 % CI: 1.00–1.08). Prompt MDR-TB diagnosis is essential for appropriate patient care, management, and disease prevention and control. We recommend active surveillance on drug resistant TB in these regions to detect drug resistance patterns for rapid disease management.