Mycobacterium marinum skin infections mimicking cutaneous leishmaniasis

Ten cases of skin infection due to Mycobacterium marinum are reported from Israel. Most of the infections were contracted in natural bathing pools at Ein Feshka on the shores of the Dead Sea, south of Jericho. The lesions closely resembled those of cutaneous leishmaniasis prevalent in this region. The condition does not seem to have been detected previously in the Middle East.