[Characteristics of biological properties of the causative agent in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis exposed to prolonged low-dose radiation].

Strains of M. tuberculosis isolated from tuberculous patients exposed to low-dose radiation after the Chernobyl accident were compared to those obtained from tuberculous non-irradiated controls for L-forms incidence, L-transformation and virulence. A total of 31 cultures were examined in vivo. In response to L-transforming preparations the frequency and rate of L-forms induction in the test strains were much higher than those in the controls. The same tendency was registered for virulence.