Distribution of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria strains from suspected tuberculosis patients by heat shock protein 65 PCR-RFLP.

The genus contains more than 150 species. Non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) often cause extrapulmonary and pulmonary disease. Mycobacteria detection at species level is necessary and provides useful information on epidemiology and facilitates successful treatment of patients. This retrospective study aimed to determine the incidence of the NTM isolates and (Mtb) in clinical specimens collected from Iranian patients during February 2011-December 2013, by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA) of the gene. We applied conventional biochemical test and -PRA identification assay to identify species of mycobacteria in specimens from patients suspected of having mycobacterial isolates. This method was a sensitive, specific and effective assay for detecting mycobacterial species and had a 100% sensitivity and specificity for Mtb and (MAC) species. Using PRA for 380 mycobacterial selected isolates, including 317 Mtb, four and of the 59 clinical isolates, the most commonly identified organism was (35.6%), followed by (16.9%), (16.9%), (5.1%), (5.1%), (5.1%), (3.4%), (3.4%), (3.4%), (3.4%) and (1.7%). PRA method, in comparison with classical methods, is rapid, useful and sensitive for the phylogenetic analysis and species detection of mycobacterial strains. is the most common cause of infection by NTM in patients with non-HIV and HIV which demonstrated a high outbreak and diversity of NTM strains in our laboratory.