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. 2014 Mar 7;63(9):201-2.

Notes from the field: rapidly growing nontuberculous Mycobacterium wound infections among medical tourists undergoing cosmetic surgeries in the Dominican Republic--multiple states, March 2013-February 2014

David Schnabel, Joanna Gaines, Duc B Nguyen, Douglas H Esposito, Alison Ridpath, Kari Yacisin, Joe A Poy, Jocelyn Mullins, Rachel Burns, Virginia Lijewski, Nora P McElroy, Nina Ahmad, Cassandra Harrison, Ellen J Parinelli, Amanda L Beaudoin, Leah Posivak-Khouly, Scott Pritchard, Bette J Jensen, Nadege C Toney, Heather A Moulton-Meissner, Edith N Nyangoma, Anita M Barry, Katherine A Feldman, David Blythe, Joseph F Perz, Oliver W Morgan, Phyllis Kozarsky, Gary W Brunette, Mark Sotir; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Notes from the field: rapidly growing nontuberculous Mycobacterium wound infections among medical tourists undergoing cosmetic surgeries in the Dominican Republic--multiple states, March 2013-February 2014

David Schnabel et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

In August 2013, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH) was notified of two persons with rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterial (RG-NTM) surgical-site infections. Both patients had undergone surgical procedures as medical tourists at the same private surgical clinic (clinic A) in the Dominican Republic the previous month. Within 7 days of returning to the United States, both sought care for symptoms that included surgical wound abscesses, clear fluid drainage, pain, and fever. Initial antibiotic therapy was ineffective. Material collected from both patients' wounds grew Mycobacterium abscessus exhibiting a high degree of antibiotic resistance characteristic of this organism.

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Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Number of U.S. patients (N = 19) with rapidly growing nontuberculous Mycobacterium infections associated with cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic, by week of procedure — March 2013–February 2014
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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