What is Mycobacterium?
Q: What is Mycobacterium?
A: Mycobacterium is a genus of bacteria, with about 190 species. It includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy.
Q: What shape are mycobacteria?
A: Mycobacteria are immobile and rod-shaped.
Q: Where can mycobacteria be found?
A: Mycobacteria can be found in water, soil, and dust.
Q: How many groups are there of mycobacteria?
A: There are three groups of mycobacteria - the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM), and the Mycobacterium leprae.
Q: Can people have infections from M. tuberculosis without showing any signs of it?
A: Yes, many people around the world have infections from M. tuberculosis without showing any signs of it.
Q: What makes treating mycobacterial infections difficult?
A: Treating mybacterial infections is difficult because they have a unique cell wall which makes them resistant to antibiotics that disrupt cell-wall building such as penicillin, as well as being able to survive long exposure to acids, alkalis, detergents, oxidative bursts and lysis by complement.
Q: How quickly do most mycobercteria double their numbers?
A; Most mycobercteria take longer than 18 hours to double their numbers whereas other bacteria such as E coli only takes 20 minutes to double its numbers
