Rare presentation of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare causes clinical disease mainly in immunocompromised patients with long-standing pulmonary disease, the symptoms of which are identical to those of pulmonary tuberculosis. In patients with AIDS the infection is typically disseminated. Extrapulmonary infection by M. avium-intracellulare is seen in children aged 1–5 years as cervicofacial lymphadenitis. Other extrapulmonary sites are less common and include musculoskeletal, maxillary sinus, mastoid, breast, small bowel, genitourinary tract and cornea. Such infection of the hard palate is rare. We present an unusual case of infection of the palate by M. avium-intracellulare in a 53-year-old diabetic man. To our knowledge, this infection presenting as a palatal lump in a patient without HIV or pre-existing lung disease has not been previously reported.