Nontuberculous mycobacteria and fungal co-infections Bonnie and Clyde?

18 April 2019

In The European respiratory journal Jakko van Ingen and Sanne Zweijpfenning showed that 40% of patients diagnosed with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease also meet diagnostic criteria for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.

In their cohort of patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, 60% of patients had positive Aspergillus IgG serology and 40% had both positive serology as well as positive cultures for Aspergillus fumigatus, an important fungal pathogen. Importantly, patients who proved Aspergillus IgG-positive had significantly poorer outcomes of treatment for their mycobacterial disease. In vitro, culture supernatants of Mycobacterium avium, the most frequent nontuberculous mycobacterium causing disease in the Netherlands, enhanced the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus. These two might truly behave like Bonnie and Clyde.

publication
Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease and Aspergillus co-infection: Bonnie and Clyde?
Geurts K, Zweijpfenning SMH, Pennings LJ, Schildkraut JA, Boeree MJ, Magis-Escurra C, van der Lee H, Verweij PE, Hoefsloot W, van Ingen J.

Jakko van Ingen and Sanne Zweijpfenning are members theme Infectious diseases and global health.