The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Sentinel-site surveillance of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease.
The incidence of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary disease in HIV-negative patients was studied prospectively from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2002 through 32 sentinel sites distributed all over France. Among the 275 patients who yielded MAC isolates from respiratory clinical specimens, 101 (36.7%) met the bacteriological, radiographical and clinical criteria established by the American Thoracic Society for nontuberculous mycobacterial respiratory disease. ⋯ All patients with MAC respiratory disease had clinical symptoms, commonly cough and fatigue, and 52 (51.5%) were sputum smear positive for acid-fast bacillus. The ratio of patients with Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease to patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in France was estimated to be 3% and the incidence of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease in France was 0.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.