Isolation and identification of Mycobacterium avium complex and other nontuberculosis mycobacteria from drinking-water in Basra governorate, Iraq

This study aimed to determine the occurrence of Mycobacterium avium complex and other nontuberculous mycobacteria in drinking-water in Basra governorate, Iraq and their susceptibility to several antibiotics and the effect of 0.5 mg/L of chlorine on their survival. A total of 404 samples of drinking-water were collected from 33 different districts of the governorate from November 2006 to August 2007. Filtered samples were incubated for 7 days or less in a monophasic–biphasic culture setup of tuberculosis broth and Lowenstein–Jensen agar. The 252 isolates were identified as M. avium complex (21), M. marinum (15), M. kansasii (30), M. simiae (20), M. szulgai (19), M. xenopi (16), M. malmoense (11), M. fortuitum (37), M. chelonae (50) and M. abscessus (33). Isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility as well as their ability to tolerate chlorine at a concentration of 0.5 mg/L. The presence of these pathogenic bacteria in drinking-water renders the water unfit for human consumption.