| THE OTHER BLACKGUARDS - RISING TO THE CHALLENGE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 1 | Page : 67-74 |
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Nontuberculous mycobacterial diseases: Current diagnosis and treatment
Shubham Sharma, Raja Dhar
Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Correspondence Address:
Raja Dhar
Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/astrocyte.astrocyte_54_17
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There has been an ever-expanding list of isolation of organisms in the genus Mycobacterium. Leprosy and tuberculosis are specific diseases caused by mycobacteria; there are now several other mycobacteria that cause human diseases and can be widely found in the environment. These other mycobacteria are called as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) or mycobacteria other than tubercle bacilli (MOTT) or atypical mycobacteria. They cause various human infections in the lungs, lymph glands, skin, wounds, or bone. They may also produce disseminated disease, especially in the immunocompromised. Various molecular, biochemical, and chemical techniques have been developed for rapid identification of these species. While it might be difficult to treat these infections, with duration of treatment longer than that for tuberculosis or leprosy, many drugs such as rifampicin, rifabutin, ethambutol, clofazimine, amikacin, new generation quinolones, and macrolides effective against mycobacterial infections are available that can be used in appropriate combinations and dosage to treat the NTM.
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