Occurrence of potentially pathogenic nontuberculous mycobacteria in Mexican household potable water: a pilot study

Abstract

BackgroundNontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental opportunistic pathogens found in natural and human-engineered waters, including drinking water distribution systems and household plumbing. This pilot study examined the frequency of occurrence of NTM in household potable water samples in Mexico City. Potable water samples were collected from the “main house faucet” and kitchen faucet. The presence of aerobic-mesophilic bacteria (AMB), total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and NTM species were determined. Mycobacteria species were identified by PCR restriction enzyme pattern analysis (PRA) of the 65-kDa heat shock protein gene (hsp65) and sequencing of the hypervariable region 2 (V2) of the 16S rRNA gene and of the rpoB gene.ResultsAMB (<100 CFU/ml) were present in 118 out of 120 samples; only two samples were outside guidelines ranges (>100 CFU/ml). TC and FC were detected in four and one samples, respectively. NTM species were recovered from 16% samples (19/120) and included M. mucogenicum (nine), M. porcinum (three), M. avium (three), M. gordonae (one), M. cosmeticum (one), M. fortuitum (one), and Mycobacterium sp (one). All household water samples that contained NTM complied with the standards required to grade the water as “good quality” potable water.ConclusionHousehold potable water may be a potential source of NTM infection in Mexico City.

Epidemiology of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in French Polynesia

“…Indeed, M. porcinum has mainly been reported in water supplies in tropical or subtropical areas in the USA (22,23), Iran (24), Brazil (25) and Mexico (26). We report M. porcinum isolates identified in three patients with M. porcinum lung infection according to the ATS criteria (13), which is consistent with other cases reported previously, particularly in subtropical areas such as Texas and Florida, where clonal dissemination was ob- served, particularly through water systems (22,27).…”

Microbiological Quality of Ready-to-Eat Vegetables Collected in Mexico City: Occurrence of Aerobic-Mesophilic Bacteria, Fecal Coliforms, and Potentially Pathogenic Nontuberculous Mycobacteria

“…In this study, we combined conventional and molecular methods and detected and identified NTM in 7 RTE-salads and 12 RTE-sprouts. All NTM identified in this study have also been found in Mexican water samples [ 53 ] and in water samples from other countries [ 21 , 54 ]. Therefore, it is possible that water may be the original source of NTM transmission to vegetables (used in the salads) or sprouts while growing or during harvesting, washing, slicing, soaking, packaging, and preparation.…”

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Countries: A Review

“…A total of 13 dams were entitled for the purpose of this study, with almost 520 isolates being collected (between 20 and 30 July of 2013) from multiple environmental resources such as sands, clay, wet stones, and decayed vegetation. Furthermore, a large proportion (79%) of collected isolates yielded positive results for NTM, which is more than that reported elsewhere [53, 54]. In addition, 145 isolates were carefully selected and subjected to species identification process by Alqumber (2014).…”