Genetic diversity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing family in Brazil and Mozambique and relation with infectivity and induction of necrosis in THP-1 cells.

Introduction: The success of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing (MtbB) lineage in different geographical regions has been attributed to high transmission, increased virulence, drug resistance and rapid adaptation to the host. In some countries of secondary MtbB dispersion like South Africa and Peru, rising prevalence of the Beijing strains is registered. However, in neighboring countries to affected regions such as Mozambique and Brazil, respectively, the prevalence of these strains is still low and this could be due to biological particularities of the circulating MtbB strains and/or differentiated host susceptibility.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial isolates among patients with recent HIV infection in Mozambique.

Objective: Mycobacteriosis is frequently diagnosed among HIV-infected patients. In Mozambique, where few patients are under antiretroviral therapy and the prevalence of tuberculosis is high, there is need for better characterization of mycobacteria at the species level, as well as for the identification of patterns of resistance to antituberculous drugs.

Methods: We studied a sample of 503 HIV-infected individuals suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis.

Patterns of anti-tuberculosis drug resistance among HIV-infected patients in Maputo, Mozambique, 2002-2003.

Setting: Two tuberculosis (TB) reference hospitals in Maputo, Mozambique.

Objectives: To assess the pattern of TB drug resistance and its risk factors in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients.

Design: Adult HIV-positive patients with TB diagnosed by culture of sputum or bronchial washing were enrolled during 2002-2003.

IS1245 restriction fragment length polymorphism typing of Mycobacterium avium from patients admitted to a reference hospital in Campinas, Brazil.

Mycobacterium avium is an important pathogen among immunodeficient patients, especially patients with AIDS. The natural history of this disease is unclear. Several environmental sources have been implicated as the origin of this infection.