Correlations among naturally occurring resistances to antituberculosis drugs in Mycobacterium avium complex strains.

In Mycobacterium avium complex strains, which were not exposed previously to any antituberculosis drugs, resistances to rifampin, minocycline, and kitasamycin, and resistances to streptomycin and kanamycin appeared frequently in the same strains. These data indicate that patterns of drug resistance in these organisms are not random but occur through linked mechanisms.