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Updated: May 19, 2026

Modeling Tuberculosis in Mycobacterium marinum Infected Adult Zebrafish
Published on: October 8, 2018
Fish tank granuloma caused by Mycobacterium marinum
Ting-Shu Wu1, Cheng-Hsun Chiu, Chih-Hsun Yang
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Introduction:
Mycobacterium marinum causes skin and soft tissue, bone and joint, and rare disseminated infections. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between treatment outcome and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. A total of 27 patients with M. marinum infections were enrolled.
Methods:
Data on clinical characteristics and therapeutic methods were collected and analyzed. We also determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 7 antibiotics against 30 isolates from these patients.
Results:
Twenty-seven patients received antimycobacterial agents with or without surgical debridement. Eighteen patients were cured, 8 failed to respond to treatment, and one was lost to follow-up. The duration of clarithromycin (147 vs. 28; p = 0.0297), and rifampicin (201 vs. 91; p = 0.0266) treatment in the cured patients was longer than that in the others. Surgical debridement was performed in 10 out of the 18 cured patients, and in 1 of another group (p = 0.0417). All the 30 isolates were susceptible to clarithromycin, amikacin, and linezolid; 29 (96.7%) were susceptible to ethambutol; 28 (93.3%) were susceptible to sulfamethoxazole; and 26 (86.7%) were susceptible to rifampicin. However, only 1 (3.3%) isolate was susceptible to doxycycline.
Discussion:
Early diagnosis of the infection and appropriate antimicrobial therapy with surgical debridement are the mainstays of successful treatment. Clarithromycin and rifampin are supposed to be more effective agents.
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