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Characterisation of a new isolate of Mycobacterium shimoidei from Finland
Pirkko Koukila-Kähkölä1, Lars Paulin1, Eljas Brander1
1*Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, †Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00250 Helsinki, ‡United Laboratories Ltd, 00381 Helsinki, Finland, §Department of Vaccine, National Institute of Public Health, 0461 Oslo, Norway, ||Peijas Hospital, 01400 Vantaa and **Clinical Microbiology, Kuopio University Hospital, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract:
This report describes the first isolation of Mycobacterium shimoidei in Finland from a sputum specimen obtained from an elderly female patient. M. shimoidei, a potential lung pathogen, is difficult to identify by routine methods and only a few cases have been reported. The present study demonstrated that M. shimoidei has a characteristic pattern for fatty acids and alcohols in gas liquid chromatography. This chromatogram and the pattern of mycolic acids on thin-layer chromatography allow it to be distinguished routinely. The unique sequence of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S rDNA spacer region allows identification by molecular methods.