[Infection with Mycobacterium avium complex in the nonimmunocompromised host]

Pulmonary infection due to mycobacterium avium complex has been considered exceedingly rare, with only 50 case reports in the literature until 1982. However, during the past decade the dissemination of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome has been accompanied by a marked increase in the frequency of reported infections due to this agent, although infection in the noncompromised host remains rare. We describe an 80-year-old man who was not immunocompromised but who was infected with mycobacterium avium complex.