Mycobacterium haemophilum infection in a Japanese patient with AIDS

Abstract.

Mycobacterium haemophilum has been described as a pathogen that causes cutaneous lesions in immunocompromised patients. A specimen from a skin ulcer on the leg of a Japanese patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome yielded acid-fast bacilli on blood agar plates after 4 weeks of incubation at 30°C, but the organism was not found on Ogawa egg slants. The organism was identified as M. haemophilum, on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Prolonged culture in an optimal environment that includes an iron supplement, and growth temperatures at 28° to 33°C are necessary to grow M. haemophilum. Genotypic characterization of 16S rRNA is useful for a rapid diagnosis of this slowly growing mycobacterium.