Environmental Mycobacteria in Korea

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Abstract
Environmental mycobacteria in Korea were investigated by examining 54 soil, 111 house dust, 63 well water and 98 sewage samples collected froem 123 randomly selected areas in Korea during the 4th nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in 1980. A variety of mycobacteria were isolated from 76% of soil, 67% of sewage, 43% of well water and 7% of house dust samples. Some samples yielded > 1 spp.; thus, 56 strains were obtained from soil, 107 strains from sewage, 48 strains from well water and 8 strains from house dust. Mycobacterium fortuitum was the most common species of environmental mycobacteria in Korea; the species was distributed equally in all types of samples tested. The M. terrae complex was also one of the common species of environmental mycobacteria; it seemed to be more abundant in water samples than in soil. Scotochromatogenic slow growers M. scrofulaceum and M. gordonae were common microbes in soil and water samples; the latter was more frequently detected in water samples. Scotochromogenic rapid growers M. flavescens and M. phlei and photochromogenic rapid grower M. vaccae were isolated more frequently from sewage or water samples than from soil. Nonphotochromogenic rapid growers M. chelonei and M. smegmatis were isolated mostly from sewage; the former was rarely found in soil and well water samples. The clinically important species M. avium-intracellulare complex was found less frequently in all types of test samples.

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