“…The NTM species of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC ), M. kansasii and M. abscessus have been implicated in pulmonary human disease (McShane & Glassroth, ), with MAC being a principal culprit of clinically diagnosed pulmonary NTM infections (Mirsaeidi, Farshidpour, Ebrahimi, Aliberti, & Falkinham, ; Prevots & Marras, ; Schluger, ). Despite M. avium pathogenesis not being entirely delineated in humans, it is arguably one of the most characterized and studied NTM (Appelberg, ; Appelberg et al, ; Bermudez et al, ; Field, Fisher, & Cowie, ; Johnson & Odell, ; Morimoto et al, ; Stout et al, ). Typical contraction of M. avium stems from the inhalation or ingestion of aerosolized mycobacteria or mycobacterial droplets (Appelberg, ; Appelberg et al, ; Bermudez et al, ).…”