Mycobacterium simiae is usually an environmental contaminant rarely associated with human disease. We report a fatal case of M.simiae infection in a 37 year old, HIV positive, male from whom the organism was isolated from blood culture. The identification of M.simiae was performed using DNA amplification followed by analysis on 3% agarose gel of the amplicon fragments after digestion by restriction endonucleases. The precise identification of mycobacterial isolates to the species level is important, with both epidemiological and therapeutic implications.
Mycobacterium simiae; AIDS; RFLP
