Mycobacterium xenopi infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

A case of Mycobacterium xenopi infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is described and the clinical experience of others in the United States with this organism is reviewed. Disseminated infection by this organism appears to occur only in the immunocompromised host. Because M xenopi has been found in hot water systems by others and is an organism more susceptible to the traditional antituberculosis antibiotics, recognition and distinction of this organism from the more resistant and difficult to treat Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare in the patients with AIDS may be important.