Identification of an Emerging Pathogen, <i>Mycobacterium massiliense</i> , by <i>rpoB</i> Sequencing of Clinical Isolates Collected in the United States

Abstract

Mycobacterium massiliense is a rapidly growing mycobacterium that is indistinguishable from Mycobacterium chelonae/M. abscessus by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We sequenced rpoB, sodA, and hsp65 genes from isolates previously identified as being M. chelonae/M. abscessus and identified M. massiliense from isolates from two patients with invasive disease representing the first reported cases in the United States.