Resumo

HERNANDEZ¹, Cohinta et al. Mycobacteria isolation and identification by bacteriological methods and molecular biology. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2005, vol.25, n.2, pp.64-71. ISSN 1315-2556.

Abstract Tuberculosis constitutes a worldwide major health problem and concerted effort to obtain an opportune diagnosis is needed. The infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) add to the diagnosis challenge. In this work we isolated and identified mycobacteria, using bacteriological and molecular methods, from 256 clinical samples obtained of 188 patients with diagnostic impression of tuberculosis. From forty one samples with isolation (16%), 24 were baciloscopy positive (BK+), 58,5% and 17 were BK- (41,5%). M. tuberculosis represented 58.14% of all isolated mycobacteria and NTM were present in 37,2%: 6 M. chelonae, 4 M. marinum, 3 M. fortuitum, 3 no identified. The correlation between the bacteriological and molecular identification methods was 93%. The presence of a high percentage of NTM obtained from clinically ill patients indicates the importance to include them in the differential clinical diagnosis and implementation the culture as obligate bacteriological diagnostic tool

Palavras-chave : M. tuberculosis; non-tuberculous mycobacteria; biochemical identification; molecular identification.