Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterial species increasingly isolated worldwide [1]. It may cause chronic pulmonary infections, mainly in elderly patients with underlying bronchiectasis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and it may also cause soft tissue, bone and joint infections [2]. M. abscessus has been isolated frequently from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) [3], although its role in the decline of lung function remains unclear as it can be found both in patients with severe decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and progressive worsening on computed tomography (CT) scan [4], and in asymptomatic patients. We investigated at the whole genome level M. abscessus isolated from all patients attending four Italian CF centres in the past decade with the aim of assessing the role of inter-human transmission. The four centres are located in geographically distinct regions of Italy. All of the centres routinely perform sputum screening for mycobacteria using conventional protocols [5], together with extended incubation culture on Burkholderia cepacia selective agar (BCSA). The selective activity of BCSA for rapidly growing mycobacteria [6] allows the risk of missing M. abscessus through contamination or overgrowth of other bacterial species to be minimised. No special segregation policy was in force in any of the centres during the years covered by this study.

Mycobacterium terrae has been rarely implicated in human disease and never in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We describe an HIV-infected patient with disseminated infection by M. terrae with pulmonary and cutaneous clinical manifestations. M. terrae was isolated from both sputum and urine, and identified by both conventional tests and high-performance liquid chromatography. Clinical and microbiological characteristics of this case are compared with those reported in the literature.

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