Mycobacterium africanum is not a major cause of human tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa
Received 30 December 2009; received in revised form 12 February 2010; accepted 16 February 2010. published online 31 March 2010.
Summary
While Mycobacterium africanum is an important cause of TB in several sites in West Africa, its distribution in other African countries is not well documented. In this study, conducted in Cape Town, 1175 isolates yielded 110 unique RFLP patterns; one of each of these 110 strains was tested for genomic deletions characteristic of M. africanum and other atypical members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. As none of these strains was marked by the deletion of RD9, we conclude that M. africanum and other atypical members of the M. tuberculosis complex are decidedly uncommon in this part of Africa.
aDépartement de Microbiologie et Immunologie, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
bDepartment of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
cInfectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
dDST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences – Stellenbosch University, PO Box 19063, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Corresponding author. Room A5.156, McGill University Health Centre1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, QC H3G 1A4, Canada. Tel.: +1 514 394 1934x42815; fax: +1 514 934 8423.
ABSTRACT