Blanchard D K
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine.
J Fla Med Assoc. 1992 Mar;79(3):175-6.
Mycobacteria are acid-fast, slow-growing microorganisms which have gained attention due to increasing prevalence in AIDS patients. Until the advent of AIDS, the only true pathogens of this group were Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae and the remaining mycobacteria were considered to be saprophytes or opportunistic pathogens. Infection with the MOTT (mycobacteria other than tuberculosis) bacilli was only seen in elderly or immunocompromised patients and was generally limited to caseating pulmonary granulomas, with rare extrapulmonary involvement. In AIDS patients, however, the incidence of mycobacterial infections ranges from 10 to 60% of HIV-positive persons, depending on location, method of identification, and patient population. Furthermore the pathogenesis of these mycobacterioses is distinct from that seen in non-AIDS patients because disseminated disease is the rule rather than the exception. Finally treatment of mycobacterial infections is increasingly difficult due to multiple drug resistances as well as the length of antimicrobial therapy required to cure the disease. Because of the prevalence and importance of these microorganisms, much research has been performed with the mycobacteria to develop new therapies and to understand their modes of pathogenesis.
分枝杆菌是抗酸、生长缓慢的微生物，由于在艾滋病患者中的患病率不断上升而受到关注。在艾滋病出现之前，该类群中唯一真正的病原体是结核分枝杆菌和麻风分枝杆菌，其余的分枝杆菌被认为是腐生菌或机会性病原体。非结核分枝杆菌（MOTT）感染仅见于老年人或免疫功能低下的患者，通常局限于干酪样肺肉芽肿，肺外受累罕见。然而，在艾滋病患者中，分枝杆菌感染的发生率在HIV阳性者中为10%至60%，这取决于地理位置、鉴定方法和患者群体。此外，这些分枝杆菌病的发病机制与非艾滋病患者不同，因为播散性疾病是常见情况而非例外。最后，由于多重耐药性以及治愈该疾病所需的抗菌治疗时间长，分枝杆菌感染的治疗越来越困难。由于这些微生物的普遍性和重要性，人们对分枝杆菌进行了大量研究，以开发新的治疗方法并了解其发病机制。
