Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Details

Expanded Description

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), also known as atypical Tuberculosis (Atypical TB) or Mycobacterium other than Tuberculosis (MOTT), is a bacteria that is found in water, some domestic and wild animals, and soil. NTM is a primary cause of respiratory disease in humans and is a leading cause of death in HIV/AIDS patients.

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria consists of all species of mycobacteria that do not cause Tuberculosis. There are over 20 different types of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria, which include:

M. avium
M. phlei
M. intracellulare
M. nonchromogenicum
M. celatum
M. paraffinicum
M. intracellulare
M. szulgai
M. scrofulaceum
M. terrae
M. kansasii
N. asteroides
M. smegmatis
N. brasiliensis
M. chelonei
N. otitidiscaviarum (caviae)
M. abscessus
N. farcinica
M. fortuitum

Prevalence

3.0 ( Per 100,000 Population ) [Source]

Causes

No causes have been added yet.

Disorder Symptoms

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria and Tuberculosis both affect the lungs and the symptoms can often times be very similar.

Sometimes the infection can spread to the brain, which can cause the patient to experience overall weakness, headaches, vision problems, and loss of balance.

Name	Description
Fever	Fever
Weight Loss	Weight Loss
Lack of appetite	Lack of appetite
Cough	Cough
Night Sweats	Night Sweats
Blood in the sputum	Blood in the sputum
Loss of energy	Loss of energy

Diagnosis

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria can be very difficult to diagnose and a medical professional must be able to identify the specific type of NTM.

Diagnostic Tests

Designer Diagnostics has developed a Nontuberculous Mycobacteria test kits for the rapid identification of NTM infections. The test kits are specifically designed to be used for the rapid diagnosis of as many as 15 strains of Mycobacteria (including Nocardia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, M.avium complex) from a sputum, blood or fecal matter sample dependent on the bacteria being examined.

Name
Designer Diagnostics NTM Test Kit

Disorder Treatments

Treating NTM infections can be extremely difficult and may require multiple drugs. To avoid becoming resistant to the drugs, doctors often require their patients to take several different drugs, which may cause severe side effects. Patients must also be closely monitored during the entire process, which may be as long as two years.

We don't have any treatments yet.

Prognosis

No prognosis information has been added yet

Tips for Living with the Disorder

We don't have any tips yet.