Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017:2017:1584658.
doi: 10.1155/2017/1584658. Epub 2017 Apr 20.

Drug Susceptibility of 33 Reference Strains of Slowly Growing Mycobacteria to 19 Antimicrobial Agents

Hui Pang  1 , Yi Jiang  2   3 , Kanglin Wan  2   3
Affiliations

Drug Susceptibility of 33 Reference Strains of Slowly Growing Mycobacteria to 19 Antimicrobial Agents

Hui Pang et al. Biomed Res Int. 2017.

Abstract

Objectives. Slowly growing mycobacteria (SGM) are prevalent worldwide and cause an extensive spectrum of diseases. Methods. In this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility of 33 reference strains of SGM to 19 antimicrobial agents was tested using a modified microdilution method. Results. Cefmetazole (32/33) and azithromycin (32/33) exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity, and dapsone (9/33) exhibited the lowest activity against the tested strains. Cefoxitin (30/33), cefoperazone (28/33), and cefepime (28/33) were effective against a high proportion of strains, and macrolides were also highly effective as well as offering the benefit of convenient oral administration to patients. Linezolid (27/33), meropenem (26/33), sulfamethoxazole (26/33), and tigecycline (25/33) showed the highest activity; clofazimine (20/33) and doxycycline (18/33) showed intermediate activity; and rifapentine (13/33), rifabutin (13/33), and minocycline (11/33) showed low antimicrobial activity, closely followed by thioacetazone (10/33) and pasiniazid (10/33), against the tested organisms. According to their susceptibility profiles, the slowly growing species Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium simiae were the least susceptible to the tested drugs, whereas Mycobacterium intracellulare, Mycobacterium asiaticum, Mycobacterium scrofulaceum, Mycobacterium szulgai, Mycobacterium branderi, and Mycobacterium holsaticum were the most susceptible. Conclusions. In summary, cephalosporins and macrolides, particularly cefmetazole, azithromycin, clarithromycin, and roxithromycin, showed good antimicrobial activity against the reference strains of SGM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The sensitivity profiles of 33 reference slowly growing mycobacteria to 19 antimicrobial agents.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The sensitivity profiles of the Mycobacterium avium complex to 19 antimicrobial agents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aboagye S. Y., Danso E., Ampah K. A., et al. Isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria from the environment of Ghanian communities where buruli ulcer is endemic. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2016;82(14):4320–4329. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01002-16. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azadi D., Shojaei H., Pourchangiz M., Dibaj R., Davarpanah M., Naser A. D. Species diversity and molecular characterization of nontuberculous mycobacteria in hospital water system of a developing country, Iran. Microbial Pathogenesis. 2016;100:62–69. - PubMed
    1. Tsukatani T., Suenaga H., Shiga M., et al. Rapid susceptibility testing for slowly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria using a colorimetric microbial viability assay based on the reduction of water-soluble tetrazolium WST-1. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2015;34(10):1965–1973. doi: 10.1007/s10096-015-2438-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Philley J. V., Griffith D. E. Treatment of slowly growing mycobacteria. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2015;36(1):79–90. doi: 10.1016/j.ccm.2014.10.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferro B. E., van Ingen J., Wattenberg M., van Soolingen D., Mouton J. W. Time-kill kinetics of slowly growing mycobacteria common in pulmonary disease. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2015;70(10):2838–2843. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkv180. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances