Mycobacterium abscessus is a bacterium distantly related to the ones that cause tuberculosis and leprosy. It is part of a group known as rapidly growing mycobacteria and is found in water, soil and dust. It has been known to contaminate medications and products, including medical devices.

Causes

Infection with M. abscessus is usually caused by injections of substances contaminated with the bacterium or through invasive medical procedures employing contaminated equipment or material. Infection can also occur after accidental injury where the wound is contaminated by soil. It cannot be transmitted from person to person.

Symptoms

M. abscessus can cause a variety of serious infections that require medical attention. Infections due to this bacterium are usually of the skin and the soft tissues under the skin. It has been rarely known to cause lung infection in persons with various chronic lung diseases. Skin infected with M. abscessus, is usually red, warm, tender to the touch, swollen, and/or painful. Infected areas can also develop boils or pus-filled vesicles. Other signs of M. abscessus infection are fever, chills, muscle aches, and a general feeling of illness.

Diagnosis

A medical doctor should evaluate the infection to determine if it may be due to M. abscessus. However, for a definite diagnosis, the organism has to be cultured from the infection site.

Diagnosis is made by growing this bacterium in the laboratory from a sample of the pus or biopsy of the infected area. When the infection is severe the bacterium can be found in the blood and isolated from a blood sample. To make the diagnosis, your doctor will have to take a sample from the infected area and/or blood and send it to a laboratory for identification. It is important that persons who have any evidence of infection at a site where they received procedures, such as surgery or injections, let their doctors know, so the appropriate tests can be done.

Prevention

Avoid receiving procedures or injections by unlicensed persons and avoid receiving injections with products not licensed for use in this country by the Food and Drug Administration.

References

CDC