Mycobacterium genavense Infections in a Tertiary Hospital and Reviewed Cases in Non-HIV Patients

Mycobacterium genavense is a relatively new species of nontuberculous mycobacterium reported to cause disseminated infections in patients with AIDS and later on in non-HIV immunosuppressed patients. We describe clinical and laboratory features and response to therapy in 7 patients, three of them with HIV infection and four non-HIV-three organ transplant recipients and one with hyper-IgE syndrome-in Valencia, Spain, in a ten years period. We then summarize the published cases of M. avium complex infection, with invasion of peripheral blood, liver, spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and lungs. In clinical samples a large number of acid-fast bacilli were observed. M. genavense grew only from liquid media and after a prolonged incubation period. Its identification was accomplished through molecular methods. Patients were treated with prolonged combinations of antimicrobial agents. There was clinical favourable outcome in 4 patients.