Molecular Epidemiologic Investigation of Mycobacterium intracellulare subspecies chimaera Lung Infections at an Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program.
Jane E GrossCharlotte C TenebackJulie G SweetSilvia M CaceresKatie R PochNabeeh A HasanFan JiaL Elaine EppersonEttie M LipnerCharmie K VangJennifer R HondaMatthew J StrandVinicius Calado Nogueira de MouraCharles L DaleyMichael StrongRebecca M DavidsonJerry A NickPublished in: Annals of the American Thoracic Society (2023)
This study suggests healthcare-associated transmission of M. avium among pwCF is unlikely at UVMC, but supports healthcare-associated environmental acquisition of M. intracellulare ssp. chimaera. Presence of genetically similar isolates alone is insufficient to confirm healthcare-associated transmission and/or acquisition. The HALT NTM toolkit standardizes outbreak investigation with genetic analysis, epidemiologic investigation, healthcare environmental sampling, and home of residence watershed identification to test the frequency and nature of healthcare-associated NTM transmission among pwCF.