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Mycobacterium abscessus, an environmental organism, now infects 3% to 10% of cystic fibrosis patients in the U.S. and Europe. Such infections are increasing in prevalence, associated with accelerated decline in lung function, and — because the organism is multidrug resistant —difficult to treat.
To better define the mechanisms of acquisition, investigators carried out whole genome sequencing on consecutive isolates of M. abscessus from infected patients attending an adult cystic fibrosis center in the U.K. between October 2007 and April 2011 (total, 161 isolates from 31 patients). They also carried out extensive environmental sampling and analysis of potential interactions among the patients. During the study period, conventional infection-c…